bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Emergence and Stabilization of Stratification in Simple and Complex Social Systems
Authors: Kimberly James C.
Published: January 2007

Work on the emergence and stabilization of stratification in small groups is reviewed. The work on emergence points to three basic conditions underlying the development of stratification in small groups and raises the question as to what mechanism substitutes for some of these conditions in larger systems. Several theories are shown to offer possible solutions. The work on stabilization raises questions as to the nature of the social‐psychological processes involved. The relevance of various reinforcement and cognitive consistency theories is considered. Finally, a number of theories concerning the ways stability may be achieved in small groups and larger systems are considered.
Industrialization and Social Stratification*
Authors: Treiman Donald J.
Published: January 2007

This paper reviews the current state of knowledge about the effects of industrialization upon systems of social stratification. Taking societies as the unit of observation, we consider the relationships between level of industrialization and (1) the distribution of status characteristics in the population (the structure of stratification); (2) the pattern of interrelations among status characteristics (the process of stratification); and (3) the form of linkages between status characteristics and other aspects of social behavior (the consequences of stratification). A set of propositions is specified, a few of which are empirically well established but most of which yet require empirical testing.
Stratification in American Science*
Authors: Zuckerman Harriet
Published: January 2007

Although differential ranking in science is not readily visible to lay observers, American science is, in fact, sharply graded. Rewards and facilities for research are concentrated among relatively few investigators and organizations. This distinctive pattern of stratification, at odds with the egalitarian ethos of science, is not solely attributable to the distribution of talent in the scientific community. There is however a high correlation between assessed contributions to science and investigators' scientific standing. The present pattern of stratification is the outcome of processes of allocation of men and resources among various sectors of science which include selective recruitment and socialization of young investigators, differential access to publication and research facilities, and differential recognition of scientists' contributions through citations to their work and honorific awards. In a time when the legitimacy of reward systems in many social institutions is routinely challenged, scientists are apt to accept their own as just and correct.
Blau's Dialectical Sociology
Authors: WEINSTEIN MICHAEL A. , WEINSTEIN DEENA
Published: January 2007

The focus of Blau's dialectical sociology is the notion that human organization is characterized by dilemmas, such as the freedom‐order problem. Dilemmas are inherent in social existence and underlie conflict and change. Blau's dialectic of conflict can be supplemented by dialectics of cooperation to make a more comprehensive theory.
Production Workers and perceptions of Intraorganization Mobility *
Authors: WHITE TERRENCE H.
Published: January 2007

This paper examines the intraorganizational mobility interests of production workers in manufacturing organizations. Substantial numbers of workers report not only being interested in mobility within their organizations, but many also claim to be actively pursuing that objective. The immediate supervisor is found to be a central figure in their goal achievement plans.
Primary Integration and Political Involvement
Authors: GREEN BRYAN S. R.
Published: January 2007

An attempt is made to establish primary integration as a major variable in explaining citizen involvement in political life. It is argued that a convincing case requires a demonstration that the variable is both empirically important and theoretically meaningful. The former is examined through data from a sample survey of an English city. Theoretical meaning is established through focussing upon the idea of sociable talk as a key factor in reality construction, including the construction of political events as a proximate world available for the interest and participation by the individual.
Informal Youth Organizations: A General Model*
Authors: Kahane Reuven
Published: January 2007

An attempt is made to construct an ideal type of informal youth organization having the following components: an active, expressive pattern of action, multi‐dimensional patterns of performances, symmetric relationships among participants, a dual structure, and the principle of moratorium; all these are based on a high degree of voluntary participation. These components are related (in an organizational framework) to such outcomes as the generation of value commitment, the integration of various strata, and mediation between childhood and adulthood. The paper exposes a dilemma: how to semi‐institutionalize these organizations in an attempt to diminish the risk of developing antisocial commitment and at the same time to preserve their unique properties.
How Do You Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways (The Phenomenology of Being Loved)
Authors: KATZ JUDITH MILSTEIN
Published: January 2007

The author establishes several criteria which in our culture are used by an individual to determine whether another person loves him/her. Three conditions necessary for the perception of love are elaborated and shown to entail several logical and psychological inconsistencies. It is suggested that our society, while emphasizing the importance of being loved, defines love so as to mitigate against it being perceived.
Intergenerational Relations as an Aspect of Assimilation: the Case of Japanese‐Americans
Authors: OSAKO Masako M.
Published: January 2007

The present research investigates the intergenerational living arrangements. interactions, and economic assistance of Japanese Americans. Compared to other groups in America, both first and second generation Japanese‐Americans have a stronger desire to be geographically and emotionally close to each other. The preservation of this pattern is made possible by the aged parents’belief in the importance of instrumental self‐sufficiency.
Putting Lévi‐Strauss, Festinger, Heider and Noah into the Same Boat or Some Social Psychological Contributions to the Structural Study of Myth*
Authors: CARROLL Michael P.
Published: January 2007

This article attempts to resolve certain ambiguities within Lévi‐Strauss's structuralist approach to myth by using the theory of cognitive dissonance to clarify the concept “opposition” and Heiderian social psychology to specify a procedure whereby a myth can be decomposed into its constituents units. The value of the refinements suggested here is illustrated through structural analyses of the Biblical account of the Flood and of Lévi‐Strauses theory itself.
Kenneth Burke as Social Theorist*
Authors: OVERINGTON Michael A.
Published: January 2007

A sociological reconstruction is made of the neglected œuvre of Kenneth Burke. His early period is presented through four propositions on verbal explanations as the motives for action in social orders. The later period is shown to treat the metaphorical relationships among major terms in frameworks of motives, especially explanations of “order.”
Undergraduate Teaching Environments: Normative Orientations to Teaching Among Faculty in the Higher Educational System*
Authors: PLATT Gerald M. , PARSONS Talcott , KIRSHSTEIN Rita
Published: January 2007

This paper illustrates that higher education is a system integrated by shared values and is also differentiated according to institutional teaching orientations. This illustration is accomplished through a “visual display” of shared and differentiated teaching goals as faculty reported these in a national survey conducted in 1973. Using these teaching goals, six normative teaching orientations are derived. The six orientations associated with higher educational institutional variation reduce to four types of teaching environments. Relating these environments to each other refiects a system according to the Parsonian AGIL framework.
Parsons's Early Voluntarism*
Authors: PROCTER Ian
Published: January 2007

This paper is intended as a critique of the conventional understanding of Parsons's voluntarism. On the level of analytical theory. Parsons's scheme does not refer to the conscious choices of concrete individuals in concrete social situations, but is a system of abstract causal properties characterizing social action as a process of resolution of the inherent tension of normative and conditional aspects of reality through the mechanism of effort. The recent debate about Parsons's voluntarism misses this central dynamic.
Frequency of Citations as Criterion for the Ranking of Departments, Journals, and Individuals
Authors: ROCHE Thomas , SMITH David Lewis
Published: January 2007

Interest in the structure and dynamics of sociology as a discipline has led to recurrent attempts to measure the prestige, productivity, and quality of education of the various sociology departments. While several previous papers have suggested the potential value of the Science Citation Index (SCI) as a measure of scientific standing, few attempts have been made to utilize a citation‐based measure of scientific prestige. This paper considers the meaning of the citation in science and in stratification theory. Procedures are described whereby citations to individual sociologists and journals are employed to yield rankings of departments of sociology and journals. The differences between these rankings and other rankings are discussed.
Order in the Secondary School: Strategies for Control and Their Consequences1
Authors: METZ Mary Haywood
Published: January 2007

Whether one looks at concerns expressed in response to surveys or at the allocation of effort on a day to day basis, teachers and administrators give order a high priority. Order dominates attention because the fundamental character of schools as organizations makes disorder always an imminent possibility. In the first part of this paper, I will consider the reasons that order is consistently problematic in public secondary schools. I will then analyze varying policies for pursuing order in four junior high schools, indicating why different strategies were chosen and with what effects they were practiced.
Soundtracking Everyday Life: The Use of Music in Redefining Situations*
Authors: DEES David R. , VERA Hernan
Published: January 2007

As a result of technological advances, music is presently widely available as a means of modifying social occasions. As with other artifacts, the use of music requires technical knowledge. Leaving aside the more crystallized segments of this knowledge, such as musical therapy and movie soundtracking, the study sought to explore the functional correlation college students established between types of music and social occasions. The existence of a body of consistent, though uncodified, technical knowledge is confirmed. This knowledge prescribes types of music appropriate for social occasions, and specifies the particular effects that can be obtained and the role played by some of the music's elements.
Religion in Social Change and Social Evolution
Authors: Johnson Harry M.
Published: January 2007

It is now time to try to pull together some of the themes and questions raised by the contributors to this book. My comments are not intended to settle controversies but merely to offer one more or less coherent opinion. My purpose is to help some readers to see the book as a whole. Other readers will need no help and may find my comments either wrong or nearly self‐evident.
Underemployment and the American Dream—“Underemployment‐Consciousness” and Radicalism Among Young Workers
Authors: Derber Charles
Published: January 2007

This paper explores propositions concerning the work attitudes and political views of educated young workers who are not able to find jobs commensurate with their education and skills. Underemployment theorists have proposed that growing numbers of college graduates are over‐educated for the jobs available to them and may develop (1) “underemployment‐consciousness” and (2) a new political radicalism growing out of their work‐deprivation. In a sample of predominantly college‐educated young unemployed workers, I report evidence of pervasive feelings of “over‐education” but relatively low “underemployment‐consciousness.” A significant relationship is reported between underemployment‐consciousness and radical political views among college graduates but not among non‐graduates, providing preliminary support for the proposition that political dissent is most likely to emerge among the highly educated underemployed. The persistent strength of the American Dream, including assumptions of individual mobility, success and luck, is discussed to interpret the relative optimism of approximately two thirds of these workers about finding interesting work and a challenging career.
Professional Orientation, Associational Membership, and Teacher Militancy
Authors: Cox Harold
Published: January 2007

Using work orientation and organizational membership as critical variables, the author developed a model to explain teacher militancy. It was hypothesized that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) members would be more professionally oriented than the National Education Association (NEA) members; furthermore, that the more professionally oriented teachers would be more alienated, would have more frequent conflict with the administration of the school system, and would be more militant. The findings supported these hypotheses. However, within the work orientation categories there were some unanticipated findings. For AFT members, the “Professionally Oriented” members were the more alienated, had more frequent conflicts with the administration, and were more militant. For NEA members, the “Job Bureaucrats,” and not the “Professionally Oriented,” were found to be more alienated, to have more frequent conflicts with the administration, and to be more militant. The data suggest that AFT and NEA members hold quite different definitions of professionalism and of the appropriate role of the public school teacher.
REVOLUTION, REACTION, AND REFORM: THE CHANGE THEORY OF PARSONS'S MIDDLE PERIOD
Authors: Alexander Jeffrey C.
Published: January 2007

The “conflict school” in contemporary sociology emerged in large part as a critique of the theory of social change that Talcott Parsons developed during his middle period, which began with the empiricallyoriented essays that appeared after The Structure of Social Action (Parsons, 1937), and extended through the simultaneous publication of Towards a General Theory of Action (Parsons and Shils, 1951) and The Social System (Parsons, 1951). The conflict critique, now enshrined in textbook lore and highbrow writing alike, accused Parsons of a static, idealist bias that ignored issues of process, conflict, and change. While Parsons's attitude toward change, during this and later periods of his development, was complex and often ambiguous, this evaluation was certainly incorrect. I will demonstrate, in fact, that in this middle period Parsons actually produced a more systematic and compelling approach to conflict and change than the theories produced by the conflict critics themselves.

In the first part of this paper, I will present the formal elements of Parsons's change theory. The second part will add substance to this theory by showing how Parsons applied it to the empirical problematics of recent Western development. In the third section, I will relate this formal and substantive theorizing to the vastly misunderstood deviance paradigm from The Social System. In conclusion, I will return to the question with which I began: What is the real relationship between the conflict theorists and their very useful straw man, “Talcott Parsons”?1
Rationality and Freedom: Weber and Beyond*
Authors: LEVINE Donald N.
Published: January 2007

In the tradition of German social thought from Kant and Hegel through Toennies and Simmel, the development of rationality in modern Europe is associated with an increase of human freedom. Weber's work departs from that tradition by providing an incomparably differentiated framework for the analysis of rationality and by associating modern European rationalization with a curtailment of freedom. More careful examination of Weber's oeuvre, however, indicates that he, too, connected rationalization with the growth of freedom in many respects. His amended argument remains valuable today, although ways in which it stands to be improved by incorporating subsequent analyses are suggested.
The Experience of Migration: Settlement and Adjustment in Milan*
Authors: SURACE Samuel J. , SEEMAN Melvin
Published: January 2007

We examine two perspectives on the management of migration, involving the distinction between settlement and adjustment. The latter refers to urban migration that involves significant personal maladjustment, while settlement emphasizes the importance of social networks and coping strategies in moderating the consequences of migration. Using a sample representing both rural and urban origins and differential length of residence in Milan, it is shown that (contrary to assumptions involved in the “maladjustment” perspective) neither prior urban experience nor length of exposure to urban life is associated with better adjustment. Various coping strutegies are explored (e. g., pre‐migration and social‐network help) as potential contributors to successful settlement. Finally, the “settler” (in contrast to the “maladjuster”) is shown to be more insulated from urban‐oriented change in life style and ideology.
Edmund Husserl's Impact on Max Weber*
Authors: MUSE Kenneth R.
Published: January 2007

In correcting Rickert, Weber was influenced by Dilthey when he accepted the central place of interpretive understanding in the Geisteswissenschaften. But it was partly the influence of Husserl that led Weber to correct Dilthey's psychological reductionism in two respects, both of which are important in Weber's concept of ideal types: (1) categorial understanding, such as we have not only in mathematical analysis but also in the analysis of rational action, does not depend on psychological peculiarities, and (2) perceptual understanding, such as the investigator may have of irrational and nonrational action, is not given by immediate intuition alone but is partly constructed, and the validity of the construction must be tested by causal analysis. The author argues, further, that there is a phenomenological aspect to Weber's well‐known types of authority, for example.
A Note on Boston's Racial Problems
Authors: Gesualdi Louis
Published: January 2007

This article offers an explanation of the underlying factors concerning relations among the blacks, Italians and Irish in Boston. Two studies were examined involving the economic situation of the Italians and Irish in Boston in order to understand this city's racial problems. These three groups (Italians, Irish and blacks) have been over represented in the lower occupation level and in the poorer housing areas. It is shown that the racial problems between the white ethnics (Irish and Italians) and blacks are caused by a lack of job and housing opportunities.
The Quaker Ethic and the Fixed Price Policy: Max Weber and Beyond*
Authors: Kent Stephen A.
Published: January 2007

Max Weber undertook his research on the Quakers and their fixed price policy as part of his attempt to understand the role of the Puritan sects in the rise of early modern capitalism. Although his comments on the group were sympathetic and penetrating, they suffered from inattention to the historical context. He failed to see, for instance, that the Quakers’economic policies in large part reflected their resentful frustration over the Puritans’failure to institute popular political, economic, and religious proposals.

This paper corrects Weber's portrait of the Quakers and their unique fixed price policy by paying close attention to the social climate in which they formulated this economic innovation. In doing so the research establishes an important relationship between religious doctrines and social frustrations that Weber himself did not see, but that existed in Nietzsche's theory of “resentment,” and in Eduard Bernstein's analysis of the earliest Quakers.
Urban Scale and the Quality of Community Life: A Swedish Community Comparison*
Authors: Popenoe David
Published: January 2007

A comparative ethnography of the lives of inhabitants of similar housing environments in two Swedish communities‐Stockholm (population 1.3 million) and Gävle (population 50,000)‐provides an opportunity to examine the ways in which lifestyles and community life may vary by size of urban place. The overwhelming impression is of lifestyle and community life similarities between the two locales, suggesting that size of urban place is not very significant in its effects. Yet some social advantages are felt by residents of the smaller community, such as increased family contacts and fewer youth problems. These advantages are offset, however, by the more limited job market and range of cultural facilities associated with smaller places.
The Culture of Poverty and Learned Helplessness: A Social Psychological Perspective*
Authors: Rabow Jerome , Berkman Sherry L. , Kessler Ronald
Published: January 2007

This paper links the sociological work of Ball on the analgesic subculture‐a subculture of Appalachian poverty‐with the sociological research of Merton on adaptation, the social psychological research of Seeman on alienation, and the psychological research of Seligman on learned helplessness. We suggest that (1) Ball's cultural explanation work has not been pursued because it has not been integrated with relevant structural and relevant psychological theory and (2) the analgesic subculture of Appalachia is an extreme intensification of the consequences of alienation resulting in a psychology of learned helplessness.
An Adaptive Systems Theory: Toward Reductionism*
Authors: Muir Donal E.
Published: January 2007

An attempt is made to unite diverse principles of contemporary sociology by viewing social systems as adaptive systems whose members are also adaptive systems, the general class of systems that attempt to maximize internal values by modifying their behavior and/or structure. Large numbers of sociological and behavioral propositions were examined and those that met criteria of relevance, clarity, and empirical support were restated in a standardized format. A systems‐theoretical reductionist perspective was applied to these selected propositions with the aid of a theorem‐generating computer program developed as part of the research, in order to identify the subset that, as axioms, would most efficiently generate those remaining as theorems. The resulting axiomatic theory appears to satisfy the scientific criteria of generality and parsimony, as well as the additional design goals of ready comprehension and application, the latter tested in part by social‐system simulations. Among the nontrivial derivatives illustrated are principal propositions related to learning, values, economic models of decision making, social exchange, arms races, coalition formation, segregation, and cultural evolution.
Social and Economic Structural Antecedents of Fertility*
Authors: Levy Diane E. , Miller Robert K. , Willis Cecil L.
Published: January 2007

Social and economic structural characteristics of counties are used to predict differences in county fertility rates using 1970 census data for North Carolina's one hundred counties. We argue that fertility rates are affected by county social and economic structures, and hypothesize that fertility rates vary directly with level of occupational sex segregation and inversely with degree of urbanization, industrialization, population size, and female labor force participation rates of counties. Variables reflecting general sociodemographic characteristics of counties are also included in the analysis. Using multiple linear regression and factor analytic techniques, a preliminary model of social and economic structural antecedents of fertility is constructed. Three factors, which collectively account for 69 percent of the variance in fertility rates, are indicative of the importance of social and economic structural conditions in accounting for variation in local fertility.
A Father's Education as a Determinant of Socioeconomic and Cultural Characteristics of Families in a Sample of Iranian Adolescents*
Authors: Mehryar Amir H. , Tashakkori Abbas
Published: January 2007

In order to find out the degree to which a father's education can be used as a predictor of the socioeconomic status (SES) of the family, 1,047 high school students in and around Shiraz, Iran were given a questionnaire covering a wide variety of issues. A considerable variation was found in the physical, cultural, and financial milieus of subjects with different FEs (father's education). Results indicate a close association between a father's education and his occupational status and income. Subjects with better‐educated fathers have reported a higher rate of literacy among their mothers and a more culturally enriched home environment than those with less‐educated fathers. The parental homes of the high FE group also appear to be mostly located in the more fashionable, modern residential areas of the city and to contain a larger number of rooms. The findings are taken as further justification for the use of FE as an index of parental SES. The significance of education as a means of social mobility in the Iranian culture is briefly discussed and the implication of this for the educational system of the country is commented upon.
The Political Economy of Social Science Funding
Authors: Cummings Scott
Published: January 2007

This article examines recent economic and political trends constraining the production of social science knowledge. Particular attention is given to the Reagan Administration's attempt to contract public sector programs and curtail financial support for social science research. Trends in the private economy, especially within the publishing industry, that affect the production of social science knowledge are also discussed. Over the past few years, the market for social science knowledge has seriously eroded. The erosion of this market is examined within the larger framework of a shift in public policy from legitimation to capital accumulation, a shift that has accompanied right‐wing ascendancy in American politics. This shift has created political and economic incentives encouraging the social science community to align more closely with conservatives.
Alienation and Deviance: Strain Theory Reconsidered*
Authors: Mitchell Richard G.
Published: January 2007

This paper proposes a way in which the concepts of alienation and anomie may be related in a single dimension of social experience and offers a refinement and expansion of traditional strain theories of deviance causation. It is argued that both alienated and anomic social actors seek a common goal–a sense of effective interaction with their environment; an experience of personal competence. Anomic persons are those who perceive the demands of primary roles as confusing and beyond their abilities and who respond by seeking to maximize certainty, security, and stability in social interaction. By contrast, alienated individuals are those who experience primary role requirements as simple but stifling and restrictive, bereft of meaningful challenges. These latter persons seek greater freedom and opportunities for creativity and self‐expression. The ways in which deviance may emerge as these alienated persons adapt to the perceived discrepancy between their abilities and responsibilit ies are outlined and illustrated following the adaptive modes suggested by Merton for anomic persons.
Singers and Stereotypes: The Image of Female Recording Artists*
Authors: Thaxton Lyn , Jaret Charles
Published: January 2007

This study investigates the image of popular female singers in different musical styles as conveyed through their album cover photographs. Slides were made of ninety‐one albums recorded by women between 1973 and 1981. They were shown in subgroups to panels of judges who rated them on thirty‐one traits. These traits represent either (a) aspects of the “traditional” feminine stereotype, (b) qualities of sexual attractiveness, or (c) positive, but not specifically feminine, traits. The results indicate that female singers were rated positively, regardless of musical style. Country singers were rated relatively high on the traditional traits, while rhythm and blues artists were high on sex appeal and positive traits. Rock singers were rated as aloof and high on positive traits but low on traditionalism and sex appeal. Pop singers were not rated high or low on any dimension. Some differences in male and female raters’evaluations were found. It was concluded that female recording artists generally are not presented in the same stereotyped manner as women are usually portrayed in other forms of media advertising.
Limitations of the Individualistic Response to Inequality: An Examination of Title VII
Authors: Mills Trudy
Published: January 2007

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is viewed in this paper as a response to inequality which places the burden for change on the individual. It is argued that this individualistic approach to change is limited in scope. By examining characteristics of the suits filed under Title VII, it is shown that the current system of stratification is not seriously threatened by laws such as Title VII, particularly when narrowly interpreted.
Psychological Well‐Being and the Socio‐Symbolics of Athletic Contests*
Authors: Pollner Melvin , Holstein James A.
Published: January 2007

Anecdotal accounts suggest that athletic contests affect the psychological well‐being of members of the community represented by the competing teams. While these effects are sociologically plausible, there is virtually no systematic evidence that documents the relation between athletic contests and well‐being. This study examines the relation between the play and performance of major athletic teams at a large university and use of the campus psychiatric clinic. Upon introduction of appropriate controls, the initial zero‐order relations between team play and performance and clinic usage disappear.
The Status of Intrapersonal (or P‐) Variables in the Recent Collective Behavior Literature
Authors: Tibbetts Paul
Published: January 2007

This paper examines the causal and explanatory role assigned to intrapersonal (or P‐) variables in the recent sociological literature on collective behavior. In Part I emphasis is on the use–or nonuse–of P‐variables as factors mediating between collective behavior episodes and their antecedent social and situational determinants. It is suggested that P‐variables have been (1) excluded on methodological grounds in favor of more directly observable and/or manipulable behavior, (2) analyzed as dependent variables, defined by and contingent on antecedent social and situational considerations, or (3) introduced as independent variables and therefore significantly figuring in any explanatory account of collective behavior. Part II deals with the conceptually deeper issue concerning the terminology and metaphors employed in the literature regarding collective behavior and its causal antecedents.
Consciousness Re‐Evaluated: Interpretive Theory and Feminist Scholarship*
Authors: Kasper Anne S.
Published: January 2007

This paper suggests that interpretive sociology should review its model of consciousness in the light of the new feminist scholarship on women's experience of self and society. The thesis of the paper is that there is a fundamental conflict in women's consciousness between meaning systems inherited from the culture and those that are acquired through lived experience. This paper demonstrates that interpretive sociology's model of consciousness does not account for the conflicts posed by the feminist perspective and suggests future issues for research.
Learning to Live with Variable Ratio Scheduling: The Career of a Horse Player*
Authors: Rosecrance John
Published: January 2007

Although adaptations to variable ratio scheduling are an inevitable aspect of sustained gambling, the long term significance of this phenomena has not been researched adequately. Linking ethnographic data collection and social learning analysis, the author presents a career portrayal of regular horse race gamblers that describes how they deal with differential reinforcement. Over time, most horse players develop strategies that allow them to continue their gambling careers despite the low probability of financial success. The career portrayal also identifies reward factors that help explain the persistence at gambling demonstrated by inveterate horse players.
Intermarriage of Frontier Immigrant, Religious and Residential Groups: An Examination of Macrostructural Assimilation
Authors: Anderton Douglas L.
Published: January 2007

Intermarriage among heterogeneous social groups has often been studied as a process of assimilation. The present paper extends this research through a unique application of macro‐structural propositions of intermarriage (Blau et al., 1982) to a nineteenth century American frontier population. Variants of these propositions are presented, used to address age patterns of nuptiality, and tested through a longitudinal application. Results support the utility of macro‐structural theories in analyses encompassing initial community formation as well as assimilation of later arriving immigrants. Analyses illustrate both the assimilation of initially arriving immigrant groups on the frontier and the initial emergence of new heterogeneities in the established native population and later arriving immigrants.
Intellectuals in Contemporary Social Theory: A Radical Critique
Authors: Barrow Clyde W.
Published: January 2007

Contemporary social theorists have been remarkably consistent in advocating an analytically defined ideal‐type of the modern intellectual. This ideal‐type presents the intellectual as a politically autonomous critic pursuing knowledge for its own sake. I argue that this concept rests on the presupposition of specific empirical and historical conditions concerning the social organization of intellectuals. To the degree that these presuppositions are “falsifiable” by a historically grounded framework of intellectual “action,” one may challenge the “epistemological” claims of modern intellectuals with a “class conscious” sociology of knowledge.
War Painters and Western Science
Authors: Chubin Daryl E. , Weinstein Jay
Published: January 2007

This essay focuses on one epoch in one culture, the “war painter” system in Nazi Germany, and considers its social trappings (professional, political) as characteristics shared by another epoch and culture, evaluation systems in contemporary Western science. The parallels are instructive not only for a self‐critical sociology of knowledge such as that envisioned by Karl Mannheim and Alvin Gouldner, but moreover as an anthropological test of cultural relativism as explanation.

If society with its fixed hierarchies can no longer give us a safe orientation and a basis for self evaluation, we must for that very reason meet the challenge of developing a new pattern of orientation based upon a deeper and more genuine human truth…. This is the real task of the democratized age, and it is a task yet to be done.
Theory and Method in Social Impact Assessment*
Authors: Dietz Thomas
Published: January 2007

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is a method of policy analysis that offers great potential for integrating scientific policy analysis into a democratic political process. This potential has not been realized in large part because there has been no theoretical framework to guide SIA. In this paper I propose such a framework, using Habermas’(1970) pragmatistic approach to policy. The framework suggests heavy emphasis on use of SIA early in the policy process and on methods that emphasize impact identification and portrayal.
The Measurement of Fear of Crime*
Authors: Ferraro Kenneth F. , Grange Randy L.
Published: January 2007

The volume of research on fear of crime in the United States is substantial and continues to regularly appear in sociology and criminology journals. Despite the amount of research on the subject, the measurement procedures most frequently used are suspect because of theoretical and methodological shortcomings. We present a conceptual definition of fear of crime and then systematically review the way it has been measured in research over the last fifteen years. The review indicates that whik omnibus fear of crime and risk of crime measures are only moderately correlated, a substantial number of studies have used risk measures and generalized to fear. Suggestions for future research are offered.
Informal Socialization Agencies and Role Development*
Authors: Rapoport Tamar , Kahane Reuven
Published: January 2007

The article hypothesizes that informal youth organizations influence processes of transition to adulthood by facilitating role development, that is, the conversion of child‐oriented roles into adult‐oriented ones. In an attempt to test the hypothesis, two variables were specified. Informality was defined in terms of seven organizational components: moratorium, symmetry, dualism, multiplexity, expressive instrumentalism, voluntarism, and pragmatical symbolism. The impact of these components on role development was measured by three indicators: Role Scope, Role Types and Role Aspects. Residential summer camps served as a quasi‐experimental laboratory for the research. A positive significant relationship was found between the level of informality and level of role development, especially in the long run. Findings are explained by the particular experiences youth undergo in informal socialization contexts, in which trial and error behavior, balanced reciprocity, and normative ambivalencies are institutionalized.
The Functionalist Perspective on Social Inequality: Some Neglected Theoretical and Conceptual Roots*
Authors: Grimes Michael D.
Published: January 2007

This paper outlines the origins of the functionalist perspective as it was used by American social scientists to explain social inequality during the first four decades of the twentieth century. The author then argues against the assumption that the basis for development of the perspective is found in the work of Parsons and his students who applied Parsons’general framework to studies of social inequality in complex industrial society. Instead, it is suggested that the research of social anthropologists, such as Robert and Helen Lynd and W. Lioyd Warner, was equally important to the development of the functionalist perspective. The author further argues that early twentieth‐century British social anthropology, with its strong ties to Durkheimian functionalism, greatly influenced the direction of studies on social inequality. The paper concludes with a discussion of the intellectual ancestries between these theoretical pioneers and Parsonians and offers an explanation why Parsons’work dominated sociology during a critical period of the discipline's development.
Striking A Balance: Female Correctional Officers, Gender Role Stereotypes, and Male Prisons*
Authors: Jurik Nancy C.
Published: January 2007

This paper examines the strategies developed by female correctional officers to circumvent interactional and organizational barriers to advancement in the traditionally‐male work organization of the men's prison. Data for the analysis are drawn from interviews with female officers and other staff in a state department of corrections located in the western United States. In a dramaturgical‐like fashion, female officers seeking to advance must moderate–strike a balance–between a series of countervailing negative sex role stereotypes. However, regardless of their success in presenting a “balanced” image at work, female officers experienced stress from their responsibility of accommodating to this predominantly male work environment.
Mechanization and Changing Skill Requirements of Production Jobs*
Authors: Cattan Peter
Published: January 2007

Using two sets of U. S. Census data and information from the U. S. Employment Service, this study analyzes the effects of mechanization on skill requirements of blue collar jobs, assessing changes in the distribution of employment in these jobs by race and gender. The results are discussed in the context of high and low levels of mechanization change. Although there was a tendency for mechanization to lower the skill requirements of production work, changes among labor force subgroups are found to differ substantially. Black males increased in high skill jobs regardless of whether these jobs were in industries undergoing high or low rates of mechanization. Females and white males tended to increase more sharply in low skill work, especially in the industries which had high rates of mechanization.
Robert E. Park and the Theoretical Content of Chicago Sociology: 1920–1940*
Authors: Lengermann Patricia Madoo
Published: January 2007

Drawing on the entire body of Robert E. Park's work published in the period 1921–1944, this paper describes his general theoretical system at three points in time: in 1921, between 1922 and 1929, and from 1930 to 1944. Park refined and altered his general theory of society over this period partly because of ambiguities in his original 1921 formulation and partly because of pressure from changing social and intellectual milieux. Park is treated as the leading theorist of the Chicago School of Sociology, and this account of his theoretical system is used as a base for assessing the validity of five different contemporary claims about the theoretical contributions of the Chicago School of Sociology.
Cultural Knowledge and Systems of Knowing
Authors: Nash Jeffrey E. , McCurdy David W.
Published: January 2007

James P. Spradley developed a systematic program for using personal experiences as data for cultural analysis. According to the program, the diversity of urban culture can be studied using ethnographic interviewing, participant observation and life history techniques. Spradley studied a Kwakiutl chief, tramps, cocktail waitresses, and deaf people and stimulated the study of variety in modern society. Teaching and research are integrated in Spradley's work.
The Criterial Crisis of the Academic World*
Authors: Singer Benjamin D.
Published: January 2007

The author analyzes the crisis in standards in the academic world where symptoms of academic fraud and diminished quality are linked to increasing competitive pressure, demographic forces, and defects in the social system of professional control, examples of a criterial system with mechanical assessment technology that generates paradoxical outcomes. The paper addresses such issues as redundancy of publications and defects in the peer review system, drawing examples from the fields of medicine, science and sociology, It is argued that a decline in academic standards is facilitated by the confusion involved in differentiating criteria from standards. Further analysis of criterial systems is suggested, along with the need for an explicit examination of academic values and quality.
Capitalism, Protestantism and the Private Family: Comparisons among Early Modern England, France, and the American Colonies*
Authors: Johnson G. David
Published: January 2007

The study of western family change lies disintegrated, divided into two largely independent intellectual communities–family history and theoretical family sociology. An integration of the two fields is proposed. The results of family historical research from three national cases, England, France, and the North American Colonies, are used to evaluate critically the family theories of Parsons, Seccombe, Zaretsky, and Horkheimer. The pattern of family organization regarded as modern, including the differentiation of the family from other social institutions, the emergence of companionate marriage, and the consolidation of authority over the family in the role of the father, characterize the family systems of England and the Colonies better than that of France. A theory of modern family organization is proposed that identifies the emergence of a culturally dominant middle class and the institutionalization of Protestantism as facilitating conditions for the development of this private family system.
A Comparison of Men in Typically Male and Typically Female Operative Occupations
Authors: Szafran Robert F. , Reeves Joy B.
Published: January 2007

The authors use data from the General Social Surveys conducted from 1972 to 1985 to examine those personal and family characteristics which best discriminate men in typically male machine operative occupations from men in typically female machine operative occupations. Of the twelve personal and family characteristics considered, nine variables are found to discriminate between these two groups. The findings suggest that personal and family characteristics may shape occupational destinations for men in semi‐skilled occupations.
Prejudice as Lifeform*
Authors: Fuchs Stephan , Case Charles E.
Published: January 2007

Sociological research on racial prejudice has generated consistent and reliable empirical findings on the social determinants of prejudice, but comprehensive theoretical explanations of the social forces that promote prejudice tend to be controversial. Two such theoretical perspectives are examined and then compared for their ability to explain prejudice; namely Durkheim's theory of cognition and the neoevolutionist approach to sociocultural modernization and ontogenetic maturation. An attempt also is made to merge the interactionist and evolutionist arguments for the purpose of developing a comprehensive explanation of prejudice.
Donald R. Cressey: An Intellectual Portrait of a Criminologist
Authors: Akers Ronald L. , Matsueda Ross L.
Published: January 2007

The late Donald R. Cressey (1919–1987) was a central figure in twentieth century American criminology. A distinctive feature of criminology since the 1930s has been the dominance of sociology among the various disciplines studying crime and criminal justice. Cressey's contributions to the sociology of crime and delinquency came from his teaching, scholarship, and involvement in criminal justice policy. He was best known for his carrying on the tradition of Edwin Sutherland in taking Sutherland's criminology textbook through many revised editions after Sutherland's passing and for his pioneering, innovative contributions to the study of organized crime, prisons, and criminological theory. He also made central and lasting contributions to the sociology of criminal law and white collar crime. His ideas in each of these areas are reviewed to produce a portrait or profile of what he added to criminology, to remind those who know it already and to introduce it to those who may not.
Estate Inheritance: A Sociological Lacuna*
Authors: McNamee Stephen J. , Miller Robert K.
Published: January 2007

Estate inheritance, a frequently mentioned but rarely examined feature of stratification systems, has been a neglected area of research in sociology. In this paper, several possible causes of the sociological neglect are discussed. The treatment of inheritance patterns in functionalist and conflict theories of stratification is analyzed, and an overview of existing research on inheritance is presented. Finally, a conflict theory of stratification that incorporates the phenomenon of inheritance is proposed, and avenues for further research are suggested.