bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Role of Ethnicity in the Emergency Decision‐Making Process*
Authors: Perry Ronald W. , Green Marjorie R.
Published: January 2007

Although sociologists have studied for decades the process whereby citizens make emergency decisions in response to disaster warnings, very little attention has been given to understanding the role of ethnicity in this process. Data derived from fatality and injury counts following disasters, though sparse, documents that minority group citizens tend to suffer disproportionately high negative consequences in connection with the impact of disasters. On the basis of this information, it is inferred that differences exist between the emergency decision‐making processes of minority and majority citizens. This paper lays the theoretical groundwork for beginning to revise existing conceptual models of warning response behavior to more adequately address the variation associated with minority group status. This goal is accomplished through pursuing three general tasks: (1) examining the process through which personal emergency decisions are made, (2) delineating social factors which impinge upon the outcomes of this decision‐making process, and (3) integrating into an existing model of warning response behavior, additional variables which are related to minority status.
The Problem of Individuality in Karl Mannheim's Sociology
Authors: Weinstein Deena , Weinstein Michael A.
Published: January 2007

Karl Mannheim's intellectual career shows a consistent interest in the moral aim of keeping in productive tension individuality and social solidarity. For Mannheim the modern individual emerges from and is necessary to the continuance of a complex social process including differentiation, delocalization, abstraction, and democratization. Yet modern individuals surpass and may become subversive of the social conditions that nurture them, either through separation from society in the “bottomless individualism” of existential freedom or the submission to directionless crowd emotion. Once the individual has been released in society the only moral basis for solidarity is voluntary commitment, which Mannheim did not believe is a sufficient guarantor of society's survival because it does not provide unconditional backing for social norms. In his late work Mannheim feared that individuality would be effaced by technical manipulation of the mind, though he maintained the ideal that society should create strong individuals.
Abandoning the Great Dichotomy: Sex vs. Masculinity‐Femininity as Predictors of Delinquency*
Authors: Baker Paul M. , Chopik Kathy S.
Published: January 2007

Most social science research routinely uses the “great dichotomy” (sex) as a variable to predict behavior, or as a variable to be statistically controlled when examining relationships among other variables. However, this practice is often theoretically unsound. The use of a crude nominal measure such as sex, moreover, often reduces the precision of statistical analysis. This paper argues that many studies could abandon the great dichotomy or augment it with the concept “masculinity‐femininity.” Data from a study on the relationship between delinquency and masculinity‐femininity support this argument.
What Environmental Sociologists Have in Common (whether Concerned with “Built” or “Natural” Environments)*
Authors: Dunlap Riley E. , Catton William R.
Published: January 2007

Environmental sociology comprises a diverse set of interests, with the built‐environment/natural‐environment cleavage being especially significant. Yet, by virtue of their interest in societal‐environmental relations, all environmental sociologists depart significantly from the disciplinary tradition of ignoring the physical environment. We offer an ecological perspective as a fruitful way of viewing the relations between societal and environmental phenomena, and as a means of integrating work on both built and natural environments.
Energetic Theories of Society: An Evaluative Review*
Authors: Rosa Eugene A. , Machlis Gary E.
Published: January 2007

Energy has grown in importance to sociologists over the past several years because of the growing interest in environmental variables and because of the reality of the energy predicament facing many contemporary societies. These concerns have stimulated a steady growth in energy‐related sociological research; unfortunately, this research has proceeded either atheoretically or along lines where energy issues are “gerryrigged” to traditional sociological concerns. A continuation of these practices offers little hope for producing cumulative knowledge. Sociologists interested in developing theoretical research programs or theoretically guided empirical energy research have a substantial intellectual base upon which to build. Scholarly history contains numerous theories that focus on the relationship between energy and human activity. Presented here is a critical overview of the most prominent of these “energetic” theories of society, followed by an illustration of the severe problems in their theoretical method using several examples. Several recommendations regarding theory development are made. Our objective is to expose those with energy or environmental interests to this intellectual base and to offer guidance for avoiding the shortcomings in that base.
Why Does Johnny Reb Die When Shot? The Impact of Medical Resources upon Lethality*
Authors: Doerner William G.
Published: January 2007

One current theoretical explanation for southern dominance in homicide rates is that the South constitutes a “regional culture of violence.” Although this perspective has generated, several critical responses, the debate has not stimulated much theoretical development. The present study distinguishes lethal from nonlethal violence and contends that medical intervention is a critical intervening factor in the production of homicide rates. Consequently, it is suggested that states with relatively less adequate medical resources experience higher homicide rates, not because of their “southernness,” but because of limited access to proper medical care. The analyses provide some support for the idea that the differential distribution of medical resources is partially responsible for some of the variation in regional homicide rates.
Radical‐Party Politics in Illinois, 1880–1924*
Authors: Wolfle Lee M. , Hodge Robert W.
Published: January 2007

Sufficient impressionistic evidence exists in the previous literature to warrant a detailed consideration of the voting behavior of working‐class and minority groups in relation to radical third parties. The present paper is concerned with analyzing some of the sources of support for radical third parties in Illinois from 1880 to 1924. We find that a coalition between a rural proletariat and the urban working class appeared to be a potentially viable source of support for the Socialist Party of America, since the groups involved were both numerically large and potentially crucial in determining the outcome of any election. Yet the Socialists were never able to capture more than a very modest fraction of the total vote, and even among their potential backers, the electoral enthusiasm for the Socialists was fractionalized and unstable.
Toward a Theory of Worker Participation
Authors: Derber Charles , Schwartz William
Published: January 2007

This paper proposes that the emergence of shop‐floor worker participation projects in many of the largest corporations in the United States has major theoretical interest because it points to a shift in the structure of American management from Taylorist forms of organization toward “post‐Taylorist” systems based on “relative worker autonomy” and limited democratic organization on the shop floor. The postulated shift toward “relative worker autonomy” is explored, first, in terms of the contradictions and failures of Taylorism‐specifically its failure to integrate workers or bind them effectively, either psychologically or ideologically, to their jobs and firms. While the costs of worker dis‐integration have led management to initiate post‐Taylorist labor control systems, an analysis of participative experiments suggests that these new systems produce new contradictions engendering worker expectations and entitlements for democracy in the workplace. The analysis suggests the need for a reformulation of current theories of the capitalist labor process that can explain both the emergence of “integrative” labor systems based on participation and democratic legitimations and also the new forms of contestation they produce.
Charisma: From Weber to Contemporary Sociology1
Authors: Miyahara Kojiro
Published: January 2007

This paper critically examines sociological treatments of the concept of charisma. It demonstrates that the existence of diverse and conflicting views on charisma is due partly to sociologists' selection accentuations of the different types of charisma (magical, prophetic, and routinized) in Weber's writings. Reconsidering charisma as an expression of alienation, the paper also suggests a synthetic approach that may alleviate the conceptual anarchy surrounding it.
The Melanesian Cargo Cults: A Test of the Value‐Added Theory of Collective Behavior*
Authors: Knottnerus J. David
Published: January 2007

This research examines Smelser's value‐added theory of collective behavior. According to Smelser, six determinants are necessary for the development of a social movement: structural conduciveness, structural strain, generalized beliefs, precipitating factors, mobilization of participants, and social control. As a test of this analytic framework, two Melanesian cargo cult movements and the general history of these movements are investigated. On the basis of a historical and comparative analysis that relies upon both primary and secondary sources, the six factors outlined in the theory are shown to be present. The relevance of these findings for the explanation of social movements is discussed.
Moral Autonomy and Social‐Political Activism among the Faculty and Staff of a West Coast University
Authors: Tygart C. E.
Published: January 2007

In multivariate analysis, moral autonomy contributed to the explained variance for participation in politically Leftist social movements. On the bivariate level, “world view” variables besides moral autonomy were also related to social movement participation: (1) authoritarianism, (2) dogmatism, (3) efficacy, and (4) religiosity. In multivariate analysis, the effects of all the explanatory variables except moral autonomy almost entirely disappeared. Even after the addition of the subjects' general political ideology, multivariate effects of moral autonomy remained.
Parents, Friends, and Familial Sex Role Attitudes*
Authors: Tomeh Aida K.
Published: January 2007

The present study treats parental and friendship interaction as predictors of familial sex role attitudes for each sex, taking into account mother's socioeconomic status and work experience. The data are based on a random sample of college students. The findings show that parental interaction is more important than peer associations in influencing familial sex role attitudes, particularly among men. Mother's socioeconomic status and work experience condition the effects of reference group interaction on a daughter's and son's familial sex role attitudes differently and contrary to expectations. The findings are discussed in the context of reference group theory and attitude formation with a focus on the mother as a role model.
The Institutionalization of COSSA: An Innovative Response to Crises by American Social Science
Authors: Dynes Russell R.
Published: January 2007

Over the past seventy‐five years, separate disciplinary associations have been created for each of the social sciences in the United States. As a consequence, cooperation among the associations has only been periodic and delimited. These associations have been primarily focused on member services and have been less concerned than the biological and physical science associations with issues of governmental science policy.

The first Reagan budget was constructed to reduce the already sparse research support by the federal government for the social sciences. That intent mobilized the national social science community to develop collective and coordinated action. Building on a latent structure that had emerged from the common Washington location of the disciplinary associations, the Consortium of Social Science Associations was institutionalized to make a response. COSSA's initial success minimized some of the potential negative consequences. That success suggested the value of such cooperative efforts and also confirmed the necessity of the continuation of COSSA in the future.
Social Cocoons: Encapsulation and Identity Transformation Organizations*
Authors: Greil Arthur L. , Rudy David R.
Published: January 2007

The transformation of personal identities is an implicit or explicit goal of many organizations, including “new” religious movements, self‐help groups, “deprogramming” enterprises, rehabilitation programs, and others. This essay describes and accounts for one important structural feature of identity transformation organizations (ITOs): encapsulation. Three types of encapsulation are described–physical, social, and ideological–and reasons why different ITOs emphasize certain types of encapsulation rather than others are suggested. Finally, we discuss how the need for encapsulation may conflict with other organizational imperatives of ITOs and we discuss the implications of this organizational dilemma for the successful functioning of ITOs.
Peter L. Berger's Novels of Precarious Vision
Authors: Mechling Jay
Published: January 2007

Peter L. Berger's two novels, The Enclaves (1965) and Protocol of a Damnation (1975), are more than mere diversions from his discursive sociological writing. An examination of both his fiction and nonfiction reveals the homology Berger sees between sociology and literature as forms of consciousness, as complementary versions of “the precarious vision.” Berger uses his fiction to experiment with the cracks that reveal an “other condition” lying behind the ordered, taken‐for‐granted reality of everyday life. The novels also serve as suggestive treatises on how one may “cheat” fictive social reality in order to pursue an authentic existence.
Class Consciousness and Political Attitudes among Athenians*
Authors: Dobratz Betty A. , Kourvetaris George A.
Published: January 2007

Using data collected in Athens, Greece in the spring of 1977, an effort was made to test the relationship between several objective socioeconomic indicators and subjective class perceptions and political attitudes. Our main concern was the effect of subjective class awareness and consciousness on selected political issues (pro‐Western foreign policy, civil liberties, and economic conservatism) and voting. Our findings show that class and socioeconomic variables tend to be stronger predictors of socio‐political attitudes than are status indicators. In addition, subjective perceptions of class (particularly capitalist political influence and limited societal opportunity), father's politics, and age are major explanatory variables for political attitudes and the way people perceive national and international issues. Perception that the upper class benefits most from clientelism was related to voting and economic conservatism. Working‐class consciousness was important in explaining voting in 1977. Our research strategy suggests that for the future we should broaden the study of class consciousness and awareness by viewing it as multidimensional and including measurements based on both closed‐ and open‐ended questions.
Relative Deprivation and Collective Protest: An Impoverished Theory?*
Authors: Sayles Marnie L.
Published: January 2007

Recently, social psychological theories of social movements such as relative deprivation (RD) have come under heavy censure. An examination of the theoretical literature on RD indicates that many of the critics’remarks seem to be predicated on an inadequate and superficial interpretation of RD. A detailed examination of many of the studies purporting to operationalize RD reveals, however, that many of the criticisms retain their pertinence when evaluating the empirical work. At this point it seems premature to declare RD moribund. Instead, directions for future studies that may lead to a more accurate appraisal of RD are recommended, since both social psychological and mobilization theories are necessary for a comprehensive understanding of collective behavior.

Ghetto dwellers have much to resent about the way the outside world treats them: poor jobs, unemployment, unfair practices on the part of many employers, high rents for unsatisfactory housing, inadequate schools and health and sometimes brutal police work, the poor performance and sharp practices of many businesses aiming at ghetto customers, as well as a host of major and minor expressions of prejudice and discrimination which may confront a member of the black minority as he goes about his everyday social traffic in American society. Although such circumstances do not hit every member of the community with equal force, they provide each ghetto dweller with some basis for discontent, and probably they all play some role in the accumulation of grievances which may finally result in a rising. (Hannerz, 1971:324)
Chronic Disease and Applied Sociology: An Essay in Personalized Sociology*
Authors: Lefton Mark
Published: January 2007

This essay represents an attempt to combine personal experience and general sociological knowledge in formulating (1) an analytic model of disease and (2) a definition of chronic disease that would help us better understand the trials and tribulations of chronically diseased persons as they cope with their environments. These objectives are achieved but their heuristic value as analytic tools or their utility for pragmatic intervention requires amplification and demonstration. The ideas and themes discussed are viewed as important considerations fur applied sociological pursuits, particularly in medical sociology, but also have broader implications for sociology in general.
Religious Belief Transformation: A Study of This Worldly Religion*
Authors: Woodrum Eric
Published: January 2007

The controversy over contemporary this worldly religious beliefs’social effects is reviewed. Critics of cultic religious degenerations and eroding moral consensus disagree with cultural relativists on the central themes of today's this worldly religions, their relation to more classical other worldly religious themes, and the appropriate group for evaluating this worldly religions’effects. These general issues are addressed through a content analytic study of the Transcendental Meditation Movement's belief system. Over a twenty‐year span, other worldly Hindu themes were displaced by familiar this worldly religious themes, including this worldly benefits, practical utilitarianism, instrumentalized techniques, scientific authority, and God's accessibility for humanity's purposes. Religious belief transformation advanced as an integrated process interacting with movement organizational developments. Still, it is argued that criticisms of contemporary this worldly religions as causes of classical other worldly religious decline are spurious and obscure the integrative potential of minority religious beliefs.
Mobilization and Meaning: Toward an Integration of Social Psychological and Resource Perspectives on Social Movements*
Authors: Ferree Myra Marx , Miller Frederick D.
Published: January 2007

This paper presents a model of the mobilization of people into movements that is compatible with a resource mobilization perspective on social movement organizations as the unit of analysis, but substitutes a cognitive social psychology based on attribution theory and the sociology of knowledge for the incentive model typically used in this perspective. We focus on the problem, neglected by resource mobilization theorists, of explaining the translation of objective social relationships into subjectively experienced, collectively defined grievances. On a macro level, our model gives independent causal weight to ideology without discounting the role that resources also play in defining group goals. On a social psychological level, we identify three distinct organizational strategies–conversion, coalition, and direct action–for mobilizing persons as participants and examine some cognitive and organizational consequences of each strategy. We conclude that incorporation of a more adequate social psychology of individual participation is not only compatible with the organizational focus and emphasis on rationality of the resource mobilization perspective, but can provide important insights into problems both social movement theorists and social movement organizers see as significant.
Institutional Completeness and Interpersonal Ties among Japanese American Immigrants*
Authors: Tsukashima Ronald Tadao
Published: January 2007

The integration of immigrants is a multidirectional process. A web of social contacts with the larger society, within the ethnic fold, or away from either to remain as isolates can be established. It is argued that the direction of integration is determined by the ability of the immigrant community to contain within its ethnic boundaries the social ties of its members. This is accomplished by the development of institutional completeness.
Graduate Training and Initial Job Placement*
Authors: Sanders Jimy M. , Wong Herbert Y.
Published: January 2007

This study examines the extent to which professional credentials accrued during graduate school are related to postgraduate employment. The undergraduate and graduate records, demographic characteristics, and initial job placements of 711 Ph.D. recipients from the University of California, Santa Barbara, are analyzed. We find that several aspects of graduate training (e.g., holding research assistantships) have greater influence on the initial placement of women than men. Further, coauthored publications with the mentor influence the initial placement of men and women somewhat differently. Given the importance of initial placement in determining career productivity (e.g., Long and McGinnis, 1981; Reskin, 1978). these differences may have considerable impact on professional life chances.
From Other‐Direction to the Me Decade: The Development of Fluid Identities and Personal Role Definitions*
Authors: Thomson Irene Taviss
Published: January 2007

A comparison of the basic traits of American character in the 1950s and the 1970s suggests that the narcissism of the 1970s is continuous with the other‐direction of the 1950s, except that the narcissist makes a virtue out of what the other‐directed person saw as problematic. The narcissist accommodates himself more fully to a social structure that demands great personal flexibility. He thus adopts a fluid identity and personal role definitions. Suggestive evidence of such identity change is found in the self‐help literature of 1940 to 1979.
Friendship and Adultery
Authors: Lampe Philip E.
Published: January 2007

The objective of this paper is to identify and explain a generally unidentified source of problems which affects married people. Whereas friendship is, in most cases, a socially accepted and highly valued relationship, there is a form of friendship which appears to be, if not unacceptable, at least discouraged and ignored– opposite‐sex friendship with a married person. Because it is discouraged, the role remains undefined. The reason for the lack of a socially accepted and defined role of friend of the opposite sex to a married person seems to be related to society's negative evaluation of adultery and its fear that this type of close relationship may become adulterous. It is ironic, however, that society's lack of definition of this role may actually be causally related to at least some adultery.
Negative and Positive Keying in Natural Contexts: Preserving the Transformation Concept from Death through Conaflation
Authors: Schmitt Raymond L.
Published: January 2007

Frame analysis has been severely criticized for its reliance on fictive and newspaper domains and its static portrayal of social behavior. Published and refereed studies, many of the participant observer vintage, are examined to investigate these charges. Conclusions include: (1) transformations are significant occurrences in Americans’daily lives, (2) societal definitions cannot be validly depicted apart from the emergent aspects of personal and interpersonal histories, (3) a new form of keying, negative keying, a not‐reality, is conceptualized, (4) the relationship between Goffman's transformations and Glaser's and Strauss’awareness contexts is delineated. Recommendations for the future study of layered definitions are offered.
Minority Students in Mathematics: The Reading Skills Connection
Authors: Kickbusch Karla
Published: January 2007

The research discussed in this paper examined the performance of male and female minority students in the subject areas of mathematics and reading. The subjects for the study consisted of over one thousand junior and senior high school students who were enrolled in fifty‐nine different mathematics classes at eleven different schools across the country. Most of the students–69 percent–were of non‐minority background. Blacks represented the largest portion (87.6 percent) of the minority segment. The study had four objectives: (1) to compare the performance of minority students on achievement tests in mathematics with their performance on achievement tests in reading; (2) to compare the performance of minority students on achievement tests in mathematics and reading with the performance of non‐minority students in those tests; (3) to compare the performance of male minority students with that of female minority students; and (4) to consider the relationship between performance on achievement tests in reading and mathematics to course grade in mathematics. The overall purpose of the study was to further our understanding of the type of academic preparation occurring among pre‐college students from minority backgrounds.
Social Theory and Feminist Theory: The Need for Dialogue
Authors: Farganis Sondra
Published: January 2007

Two developments in social theory, one somewhat older than the other, are raising a similar set of concerns. One, the older, is the critique of positivism as a model for social understanding, and in its most exemplary form provides the underpinnings for the trenchant criticism that has come out of the Frankfurt School. The second, the mole recent, comes out of Women's Studies and, like the critical theory of Jurgen Habermas and his predecessors, speaks to the need to understand human beings based on methods other than empiricism.

I should like to propose the joining in dialogue of the two, for while I see them as having much in common, I recognize a carefully considered set of arguments coming out of the Frankfurt School, arguments which could enhance the very understanding of the world of women that feminist scholarship has as its objective.

After explicating some key arguments out of Alfred Schutz, the paper indicates where the Frankfurt School parts ways with the phenomenological tradition. Of particular import is Habermas' “emancipatory interest.” Certain recent writings in feminist theory are looked at for the kind of attack they make on scientism and for the rationale behind their call for a turn to the phenomenological or hermeneutic method. The paper then raises concerns about (1) the importance of understanding the historical debates on positivism; (2) the danger of conflating intuition and hermeneutics; and (3) the suggestions that women may occupy a privileged standpoint from which to interpret the social world.
Female Clerical Workers in Academic Settings: An Empirical Test of the Gender Model
Authors: Reeves Joy B. , Darville Ray
Published: January 2007

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of an empirical study designed to test the gender model of work on a sample of 374 female clerical workers in academic settings. In the gender model of work, personal/family variables are given primacy in terms of explaining work attitudes and behavior. Independent variables selected for study were sex role orientation, education, having a blue‐collar husband, and having three or more children. Dependent variables were perceived occupational stress, occupational satisfaction, perceived power, thwarted mobility, and work aspirations. Six hypotheses were tested; three were confirmed. The authors conclude that non‐traditional sex role orientation is positively related to perceived powerlessness, low occupational satisfaction, and high work aspirations. Low Pearson's r for each confirmed hypothesis suggests the inadequacy of the gender model for this particular population.
No Nukes! A Comparison of Participants in Two National Antinuclear Demonstrations
Authors: Scaminaci James , Dunlap Riley E.
Published: January 2007

Results of a survey of participants in the April, 1979 antinuclear demonstration in San Francisco are compared to those obtained from a similar study of participants in the May, 1979 antinuclear demonstration in Washington, D.C. Both sets of demonstrators are found to be young, well‐educated and politically liberal, and to reject several dominant American values. The similarity in findings betwcen the two studies provides increased confidence in our understanding of the social composition of the antinuclear movement.
Are ‘Science’ and ‘Technology’ Necessary?: The Utility of Some Old Concepts in Contemporary Studies of the Research Process
Authors: Shrum Wesley
Published: January 2007

Contemporary views on the nature of science and technology describe them as symmetrically interdependent subcultures, in contrast to the older view of technology as applied science. On closer inspection, however, these accounts provide two distinct descriptions. The first, that of “distinct subcultures,” sees science and technology as distinguishable based on their products, sectoral locations, or objectives. The second, that of a “holistic research system,” denies that any single dimension delivers the ideal typical constructs that have long been used to characterize science and technology. On balance, social studies of the research process would do well to dispense with the terms, except insofar as their use constitutes an explanatory project.
Natural Resource Availability and Social Change
Authors: Albrecht Donald E. , Murdock Steven H.
Published: January 2007

Environmental sociology is founded on the assumption that the natural resource base of a society establishes the limits or constraints within which that society must operate. Thus, a change in the resource base on which a society depends will necessitate changes or adaptations within that society. This study attempts to empirically test these assumptions by looking at the effects of groundwater availability in the Great Plains of the United States from 1940 to 1980. Using a model derived from human ecology theory, it was found that irrigation development had major implications on nonmetropolitan counties during the time period studied. Irrigation development resulted in increased agricultural production, variations in the structure of farm enterprises, and in increased retention of both farm and nonfarm populations.
Occupational Advantage and the Impact of College Rank on Labor Market Outcomes*
Authors: Karabel Jerome , McClelland Katherine
Published: January 2007

Most analyses of the effects of college rank on labor market outcomes focus on its average impact across sub‐populations and employment situations. The framework adopted in this paper, however, suggests that the effects of college rank may vary by individual characteristics and type of job. Using data from the 1973 Occupational Changes in a Generation Survey, we test three hypotheses suggesting that occupational advantage, as measured either by family of origin or current position, is a significant determinant of capacity to convert increments in college prestige into labor market success. The findings suggest that where one went to college is especially consequential for (1) the occupational status of individuals from professional families; (2) the earnings of individuals from both professional and managerial families; and (3) the earnings of individuals in both professional and managerial positions. Overall, these findings tend to confirm the study's underlying hypothesis that aggregate analyses of college rank may be misleading when applied across sub‐populations and employment situations.
Counter‐Cultural Movements and Totalitarian Democracy
Authors: Cohen Erik , Ben‐Yehuda Nachman
Published: January 2007

Talmon's concept of “totalitarian democracy” is generalized, to make it applicable to the variety of counter‐cultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s. In particular, we expanded Talmon's concept of political liberty into a more general desire for “liberation,” offered in different forms by these movements. Accordingly, the movements are classified by two variables: the direction of liberation (inner or outer) to which they aspired, and the degree of their attempt to monopolize the means of its realization (monopolistic or pluralistic). Four types of movements are identified and examined for their potential for totalitarian democracy: (1) Movements of Self‐Fulfillment, (2) Cults of Self‐Realization, (3) Radical Protest Movements, (4) Revolutionary Movements. Marked differences in totalitarian potential were found, the lowest in movements of self‐fulfullment and the highest in cults of self‐realization.
The Social Construction of a Religious Prophecy
Authors: Shepherd Gordon
Published: January 2007

Based on interviews and participant observation, this paper presents a narrative account of the reactions of people in a small, Arkansas community to the religious claims of prophecy and divine mission made by an individual who temporarily comes to reside in the community. Public interpretation and evaluation of the prophecy is conducted informally through the rumor construction process. Naturalistic interpretations of fraud or delusion are mostly suspended as supernatural interpretations by community members become ascendent. People are eventually forced to rationalize their reactions when events fail to materialize in the manner originally prophesied. The unfolding of events is viewed from a sociology of knowledge perspective and treated as a case study of the social construction of reality.
WINNING ARTICLE 1986 ALPHA KAPPA DELTA UNDERGRADUATE PAPER COMPETITION
Authors: Watson Tracey
Published: January 2007

Using the example of “woman athletes,” or more specifically, women basketball players, this is a case study in the management of contradictory essential and relational identities. Two types of data are used. Survey data demonstrates member understanding of the social identity of “female athlete”; observational data illustrates the management of incongruent identities on three stages: the woman athlete on the basketball court, the athletic woman attending a formal dinner, and the metamorphosis of identities in the locker room. The results indicate that even though the identity of female athlete is, by definition, deviant, it offers a positive alternative to the deviant identity of woman. However, this study demonstrates that in order for an actor to achieve this identity of female athlete she must be willing and able to consistently manage the dilemmas and contradictions inherent in the role itself. That is, this study demonstrates how female athletes must simultaneously uphold loyalty to both the essential identity of female as well as to the relational identity of athlete.
Treading Upon Separate Paths: Native American Ideology and Marxist Analysis*
Authors: Nofz Michael P.
Published: January 2007

Sociologists have paid much attention to the phenomenon of ideology. In particular, there have been numerous efforts to develop theories of ideology formation from a Marxist perspective. However, one finds that such efforts almost without exception deal with shared beliefs which are characteristic of western, industrial societies. Ideologies of so‐called primitive societies, such as Native American tribes, remain largely neglected by Marxist analysis. This can be explained in large measure by the fact that Marxist analysis, with its emphasis on relations of production, is ill‐equipped to deal with Native American beliefs. Relations of production are an appropriate focal point for explaining the ideology of the European, industrial tradition. They are not useful in accounting for Native American ideology, which must be viewed as landbased rather than production‐based. Awareness of this difference leads to an appreciation of the influence of land and nature upon Native American thought.
Can Workplace Democracy Transform Capitalist Society?: Durkheim and Burawoy Compared
Authors: Cleghorn J. Stephen
Published: January 2007

This study makes a number of comparisons between the theories of Durkheim (1933) and Burawoy (1979) on the link between work and a just social order. These comparisons are used to speculate on the question, Can democratization of the labor process transform capitalist society? Several points of agreement and disagreement are discussed to advance our understanding of the societal effects of changes being introduced at the point of production. It is argued that both the organizational perspective of Durkheim and the political economy perspective of Burawoy agree that the workeras moral actoris the key to how work life will articulate with life in society. The question then becomes whether workers may be differentially involved as moral actors on the job and in society at large.
The Sociological Literature on Nuclear Issues*
Authors: Finsterbusch Kurt
Published: January 2007

In this paper we address the question of the existing and potential role of sociologists in the nuclear debate by first sketching some of the major nuclear issues, second by guaging the extent of professional attention which sociology has focused on nuclear issue. Our focus is on the professional sociological literature. In addition to it there is a vast peace literature which ranges from academic studies to newsletters and propaganda pieces. Sociologists may contribute heavily to the peace literature and be active in the peace or relatede campaigns, but we exclude these activities from our study. We view them as actions which sociologists do in their roles of concerned citizens. Our focus here is on the professional sociological literature and our comments pertain solely to it. We select thirteen journals to represent various aspects of this literature and review all issues from 1945 to the present to guage the coverage of nuclear issues in the sociological literature.
The U. S. Supreme Court and Value Legitimacy: An Experimental Approach With Older Americans
Authors: Corbin A. Robert , Walsh Anthony
Published: January 2007

This study was designed to test the designed to test the legitimacy‐conferring hypotheses as it relates to the United States Supreme Court. Conventional wisdom has long asscrted that the Court, in its role as interpreter of the Constitution, is a major force influencing the values and attitudes of Americans. However, little empirical research has been conducted on the issue, and that which has been conducted has been ambiguous. Using a split‐ballot experimental technique, we found support for the legitimacy‐conferring hypothesis among a sample of older Americans from twenty‐two different states across the U. S. We found five of nine proposals to be more strongly endorsed when their attributed source was the Supreme Court rather than the U. S. Congress or when the source was unattributed. A factor analysis of the items was used to discover underlying value‐orientations described by the nine items. An analysis to three derived factors added to our confidence in the legitimacy‐conferring hypothesis.
Industrial Pollution and the Regional Variations of Life Expectancy at Birth in Taiwan
Authors: Ting Tin‐Yu , Jou Susyan
Published: January 2007

This paper examines variables influencing the regional variations of life expectancy at birth in Taiwan. It is argued that rapid industrialization has been accompanied by negative factors which produced unexpected environmental pollution in Taiwan. We present an analysis focusing on the relationship between industrial pollution and regional variations of life expectancy at birth. The total nmber of factories is adopted as an indirect measure of industrial pollution. The 361 local areal units under study include precincts and urban and rural townships across the island. Findings support the hypothesis that there is a negative and significant relationship between total number of factories and the level of life expectancy at birth, after controlling other independent variables.
Rupert B. Vance on Population
Authors: Nam Charles B.
Published: January 2007

Rupert B. Vance, a distinguished sociologist, was a true Renaissance man whose writings spanned a variety of disciplines and touched on many issues of public as well as professional interest. As is typical of such scholars, his writings are published in a broad range of books, journals, newspapers, and other outlets. Reed and Singal (1982) brought together a selection of his writings on the South as a region, but his works in other areas have not been synthesized. The effort here is to assess his contributions to the field of population. Although no great ideas in population analysis are associated with his name, a review of his publications shows that he often was ahead of his time in dealing with issues and his influence on the field can be profoundly felt.
Mead's Solution to the Problem of Agency*
Authors: Baldwin John D.
Published: January 2007

The question of agency is central to several important debates in contemporary sociology. Unfortunately, discussions of agency can become embroiled with issues related to free will and dterminism. George Herbert Mead developed an approach to agency that avoids unsolvable metaphysical problems about free will and determinism. This paper presents Mead's work relevant to agency, revealing both Mead's method and the details of his theory. First, it shows how Mead followed the basic methods of behavioristic psychology, which require that abstract philosophical and psychological concepts are defined in terms of the actual behaviors involved. A strict focus on behavior helps in avoiding metaphysical impasses when dealing with such complex issues as decision making and choice. Second, the paper presents an overview of Mead's specific theories about awareness, meaning, decision making, choice, creativity, and social responsibility, showing how he analyzed these concepts in terms of the central nervous system, language, inner conversation, taking the role of others, reflective intelligence, the “I” and the “me”, and related concepts.
Images of Community in Scientific Texts: A Grid/Group Approach to the Analysis of Journal Editorials*
Authors: Morria Joan M.
Published: January 2007

The justifications scientists use when starting new journals often rely on “indigenous theories” which represent their particular cognitive communities. In an analysis of new journal editorials, this paper examines these indigenous theories, together with the images of scientific community they contain, and compares them with the images of science which exist in the sociological literature. As evidenced in the editorials, scientists share with sociologists a concern for the question of whether the manner in which science grows is prescriptive for, or creates obligations for, the community of researchers or instead, the community of researchers constitutes, or produces by conscious efforts, what comes to be accepted as authoritative in the particular scientific community. Douglas’grid/group model is used as an interpretive tool to map the two dimensions of concern in this question and suggests some differences between discipline groups and some changes over time.
‘External’vs. 'Social Constructionist’Models in the Sociology of Knowledge: Alternative or Complementary Approaches?*
Authors: Grimes Michael D.
Published: January 2007

This paper assesses the relative utilities of two models for examining the relationship between the sociohistorical context and thought–a traditional external approach as exemplified by Coser and a social constructionist approach offered by Scimecca –using Parsons’functionalist theory of social inequality as a test case. Both models are externalist in that they focus on existential influences on thought, and, for this reason, the models are compared as complementary explanations. The results suggest that each model, due to its unique focus within the larger externalist domain, offers important insights for understanding the links between existential conditions and the process of theorizing.
From Marx to Bonger: Socialist Writings on Women, Gender, and Crime*
Authors: Messerschmidt James W.
Published: January 2007

Contemporary socialist criminologists concentrate their analysis of crime on production relations, ignoring the co‐determination of reproduction and thus the role gender plays in crime by men and women. The author argues that this omission has occurred by reason of the theoretical work of Marx and Engels, as well as other socialist “criminologists” of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The importance of the paper lies in its demonstration that the questions raised by these early socialist theoreticians are inadequate for developing a comprehensive theory of crime.
Sociology is Different: The Misevaluation of Teaching Effectiveness
Authors: Dowd James J.
Published: January 2007

This paper inquires into the special problems of teaching undergraduate sociology in the last decades of the twentieth century. A major tenet of the argument is that sociology instructors, while facing with their colleagues in other departments a common set of pedagogical concerns, must also confront a distinct, perhaps unique, set of problems that results from the very nature of sociology and, to a lesser extent, from its uncertain status within the university curriculum. Sociology has been from its inception, an “oppositional science.” The critical nature of sociology renders the evaluation of teaching effectiveness particularly difficult. For this reason, I argue that the use of students’ratings as the single, or central, measure of teaching effectiveness may actually decrease the quality of classroom instructors rather than to produce the presumed intended result of increasing it.
AWARD WINNING PAPER: 1987 ALPHA KAPPA DELTA UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION Women in Traditionally Male Occupations: An Exploratoy Model of Gender‐Work Assimilation
Authors: Winsor Donna I.
Published: January 2007

A model of gender‐work assimilation is employed to evaluate the structure of male‐dominated occupations and the behavior of women employed in these occupations. It is suggested that because certain occupations have been the exclusive domain of males, the masculine sex‐role “spilled‐over” into the definition of job related tasks. The masculine sex role and work‐emergent behavior cause women to act according to the norms of the occupation. With low occupational representation, women choose, or are pressured into choosing, job specialties considered sex appropriate. The author also suggests that the higher proportion of women in the occupation, the less conforming and more individualistic women become in choosing job specialties.