bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Micro‐Politics of Worthy Homelessness: Interactive Moments in Congressional Hearings*
Authors: Allahyari Rebecca Anne
Published: January 2007

In this article I examine four Congressional hearings to analyze theinteractive momentsin which Democratic and Republican congressional members converge to affirm conservative, individualistic accounts of homelessness, therein constructing the worthy homeless. While themselves often highly scripted, interactive moments nonetheless help us to locate thesymbolicin symbolic interaction. Nancy Fraser's work on the politics of needs interpretation (1989) helps make sense of how oppositional needs claims (claims made that run counter to the extant policy) are delegitimized in the ceremonial affirmation of certain homeless individuals. I draw on the work of Fraser together with that of Harold Garfinkel (1956) and Erving Goffman (1967) to examine the micro‐politics of the hearing process. While Garfinkel concerns himself with “status degradation ceremonies,” I invert his concept, using Goffman's work on deference (1967), to reflect the explicit focus paid by congressional members to interactions I name “status affirmation ceremonies,” or “ceremonial affirmations.” These moments turn our attention to how the rupture from formal proceedings to less ritualized interaction involves the production of moral meaning, in particular the production of the worthy and unworthy poor.
Reframing Sociological Concepts for a Brave New (Virtual?) World*
Authors: Cerulo Karen A.
Published: January 2007

The articles that make up this Sociological Inquiry feature emerged from the 1995 meetings of the American Sociological Association. The authors included in this issue were expressly solicited for a special session on “Technologically Generated Communities.” The authors were asked to individually provide their own perspectives on the intersection of technology, community, and social action. My essay attempts to crystallize several key changes that the new communication technologies demand of conceptual frames long embraced by sociologists. In particular, the pages that follow propose some necessary adjustments to the ways in which sociologists formulate and apply three key analytic concepts: social interaction, social bonding, and empirical experience.
On the Nexus of Organizations and Professions: Networking through Trust*
Authors: Oliver Amalya L.
Published: January 2007

This paper examines new dimensions of professional‐organizational relations through the concept of trust. It develops the argument that trust exists among similar professionals because of many common denominators that lubricate their intra‐ and in‐terorganizational collaborations. Therefore, professionals have the ability to conduct efficient transactions that reduce the need for formal monitoring systems and costly contractual agreements. These efficiencies in turn contribute to organizational goals of efficiency, flexibility, and legitimacy because they reduce organizational costs, increase organizational learning, allow for faster organizational adjustment to environmental changes, and accommodate professionals’desire for sovereignty. Concomitantly, professionals impose their own needs for autonomy on organizations. Consequently, professionals both impel the creation of new organizational forms, and contribute to the efficiency of these forms. In particular, three such forms–flat structures, hypertext organizations, and network forms–are facilitated and engendered by professionals.
An Insider's Critique of the Social Movement Framing Perspective*
Authors: Benford Robert D.
Published: January 2007

In the last decade the framing perspective has gained increasing popularity among social movement researchers and theorists. Surprisingly, there has been no critical assessment of this growing body of literature. Though the perspective has made significant contributions to the movements literature, it suffers from several shortcomings. These include neglect of systematic empirical studies, descriptive bias, static tendencies, reification, reductionism, elite bias, and monolithic tendencies. In addition to a critique of extant movement framing literature, I offer several remedies and illustrate them with recent work. The articles by Francesca Polletta, John H. Evans, Sharon Erickson Nepstad, and Ira Silver in this special section address several of the concerns raised in this critique and, in so doing, contribute to the integration of structural and cultural approaches to social movements.
Multi‐Organizational Fields and Social Movement Organization Frame Content: The Religious Fro‐Choice Movement*
Authors: Evans John H.
Published: January 2007

As an explanatory method in studies of social movements, analyses of collective action frames have generally focused on the variable efficacy of the frames of social movement organizations (SMOs)in the mobilization of potential participants. However, this work has for practical reasons used the acknowledged analytic simplification that SMOs only target potential participants–and not opponents, elite decision makers, or the media–when constructing their frames. To incorporate multiple targets into future studies of SMO frame construction, this paper expands on the idea of a multi‐organizational field. I propose that the characteristics of the targets in the field and the social structural and cognitive boundaries between them determine SMO frames. This perspective is demonstrated by analyzing changes in the collective action frames of SMOs in the religious pro‐choice movement from 1967 to 1992. I argue that this perspective may explain findings where a frame fails to “resonate” with potential participants–the frame may not have been created with them in mind.
Shaping Judicial Law in the Post‐World War II Period: When Is Labor's Legal Mobilization Successful?1
Authors: McCammon Holly J. , Kane Melinda D.
Published: January 2007

We examine the circumstances in which labor is successful in the federal appellate courts when it has filed unfair labor practice charges against employers. We specifically focus on legal disputes concerning union organizing. Few studies have examined the role of class dynamics in shaping judicial law, even when labor law is studied. We find evidence that two strategies used by class actors influence judicial lawmaking. The greater the degree to which workers mobilize the law, the more likely they are to win union organizing cases in the federal courts. However, the greater the degree to which employers are organizationally mobilized, the less likely it is that judicial outcomes will favor labor. We also find that legal precedent matters in judicial decision making. We conclude that class dynamics are important in judicial lawmaking. However, we also conclude that, to a degree, judicial decisions also remain autonomous from class dynamics.
Blind Faith in the Free Market: Urban Poverty, Residential Segregation, and Federal Housing Retrenchment, 1970–1995
Authors: Gotham Kevin Fox
Published: January 2007

In recent years, research on poverty and segregation has been organized within a dominant discourse that centers on the relative salience of racial discrimination or macroeconomic change as a determinant of concentrated minority poverty. In contrast, little sociological research has focused on federal housing policies and programs as important factors shaping racial patterns of poverty and residential segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas. Drawing upon census data, public documents, housing reports, and interviews with local residents, I examine how federal and local housing initiatives in the 1980s and 1990s have interacted with the shift to a service‐oriented economy to reinforce racial residential segregation and exacerbate urban poverty in Kansas City. I find that persistent racial residential segregation, including minority poverty concentration and the spatial isolation of inner‐city neighborhoods, is due to post‐1970 changes in the operation of the metropolitan housing market and retrenchment in federal and local housing policy. Rather than viewing racial discrimination and macroeconomic change as disconnected and separate “variables,” I focus on the interconnectedness and mutually reinforcing character of both factors. Such an emphasis moves beyond separate‐variables approaches and analyses to identify how concentrated minority poverty is sustained not only by racial discrimination and large‐scale macroeconomic and demographic changes, but also by the market‐centered orientation of federal housing programs and policies.
Community Resources and School Performance: The Northern Cheyenne Case
Authors: Ward Carol
Published: January 2007

This research investigates the school performance of Indian students on the Northern Cheyenne reservation using both quantitative and qualitative data. Understanding influences on school performance is important since previous research established its impact on dropout behavior. Statistical analyses assess the relative effects of students' residence in reservation communities, the type of schools students attend (public. Catholic, or tribal), gender, family characteristics, and school experience variables. Findings reveal the importance of students' community residence for explaining performance levels at the two Indian schools, the tribally controlled and Catholic schools, and school experiences for understanding performance of the non‐Indian public school students. Qualitative data on contextual factors for communities and schools help to explain how community characteristics such as population size, community access to the school, support for education, and traditional culture interact with the specific schools serving the community. This research suggests that contrary to conventional analyses of American Indian assimilation, the traditional culture, social resources, and interaction patterns of students' communities can have positive effects on students' schooling outcomes.
Race, Class, and Family Structure: Differences in Housing Values for Black and White Homeowners
Authors: Derrick Horton Hayward , Thomas Melvin E.
Published: January 2007

Several scholars have argued that the continuing disadvantage of Blacks vis‐à‐vis Whites has more to do with social class factors than with race. Other scholars have suggested that differences in family structure account for Black disadvantage. This study addresses these issues in terms of housing values by analyzing (1) the effects of race on housing values net of socioeconomic status and other relevant demographic variables, (2) the interaction of race with socioeconomic status in determining housing values, (3) the interaction of race with household structure in determining housing values and, (4) changes in the relative impact of race on housing values from 1970 to 1990. The findings indicate that Blacks own homes of lower value regardless of their socioeconomic status or household structure. Additionally, the negative effect of race was greater for Blacks of higher status. However, there was a stronger negative association between race and housings values in 1970 than in 1980 or 1990, providing some evidence for a narrowing of the Black‐White gap in housing values. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Desired Characteristics of Spouses and Best Friends: Do They Differ by Sex and/or Gender?
Authors: Laner Mary Riege , Russell J. Neil
Published: January 2007

In view of the salutary effects that having one's spouse as one's best friend are said to impart (G. R. Lee 1988; Schwartz 1994), we investigated the relationship between desired characteristics of a best friend and of a spouse. Consistent with earlier scholarship in this area, we found that desired characteristics overlap considerably for those two roles. We also found that men's and women's selection of characteristics are highly similar and that having a current same‐sex or cross‐sex best friend did not modify the characteristics chosen for either best friends or spouses. We discuss these findings in terms of the trend toward nontraditional gender role identities and expectations in close relationships.
Out of the Limelight: Discredited Communities and Informal Communication on the Internet
Authors: Mukerji Chandra , Simon Bart
Published: January 2007

In this article we will suggest that print and related traditional media have been used more successfully in constituting a public sphere than in supporting more private and localized forms of community building (Habermas 1989; Stone 1991). The costs and control of print media, in addition to the stability of the content, have reduced the applicability of these media to the improvisatory and quotidian social processes that groups use to help keep themselves cohesive. In contrast, computer‐based interactions have been and are being used extensively to support many of the informal interactions and related activities necessary to communities, giving members new tools for negotiating and rehearsing public forms of group life (Jones 1995). We hope to show how the public aspirations and problems of social groups shape their encounters with computers and encourage them to use computer interaction to manage their public representations.
Self‐Concept of Academic Ability and the Adult College Student
Authors: Gigliotti Richard J. , Gigliotti Carol C.
Published: January 2007

Adults' self‐concept of academic ability is discussed within the larger context of self‐concept theory, the presence of adults in college, and the sparse research on adult self‐concept. The operation of adult self‐concept was explored with data gathered from 480 undergraduate students age 25 or older. Adult self‐concept of academic ability appeared to operate much as predicted by the theory. It was shaped from past academic activities (credits earned and GPA), and it affected subjective academic outcomes such as “how well one feels he/she is doing in college” and “whether one's goals are being met by the college experience.” It also affected objective outcomes such as current credit load carried and grades attained. Self‐concept did not vary by race, gender, or income, though it did vary by age. Subdomains of self‐concept were explored, and the most important appeared to be interaction skills within the classroom. Relating academic self‐concept to other psychological variables showed that it is unrelated to motivation, positively related to global self‐esteem, and negatively related to depression, stress, and external attributions for academic success.
Preserving a Vital and Valued Self in the Face of AIDS
Authors: Sandstrom Kent L.
Published: January 2007

This paper utilizes interview data to explore the challenges to self confronted by men living with advanced symptoms of AIDS. Guided by a symbolic interactionist perspective, the paper highlights how these men (1) come to terms with debilitating health complications and a diminishing future; (2) offset the threats posed by suffering, dependence, and dying; and (3) fashion and solidify selves that extend beyond death. In examining these themes, the paper reveals how men with AIDS construct and negotiate identities that enable them to sustain a sense of control, continuity, and self‐value in the face of mortal illness.
White Supremacists and the (Pan‐)Ethnic Imperative: On “European‐Americans” and “White Student Unions”
Authors: Berbrier Mitch
Published: January 2007

Working from literature on the social construction of ethnicity and on white ethnic identity, I explore contemporary white supremacist discourse aimed at presenting whites as a “pan‐ethnic” community of European descendants, whose ethnicity is equivalent to that of established ethnic and minority communities. First, I look at how white supremacists struggle with uniting all “whites,” negotiate the meanings and boundaries of “whiteness” and “European‐American,” and conceptualize their putative ethnicity as lamentable. Second, I look at discourse on efforts to organize “White Student Unions.” The use of the hyphenated‐American strategy and the development of white student unions both reflect tactical breaks with the past and are part of a “new racist” focus on putting forth a more presentable image for white supremacy and presenting whites as an ethnic/minority group, with ethnic‐like concerns and traits. If indeed there is an emergent pan‐ethnic phenomenon among “European‐Americans,” then it may prove important to recognize when this phenomenon is rooted in white supremacy and when it is not.
Acculturation and Risk Behavior among Pregnant Mexican American Females: A Structural Equation Model
Authors: Peterson Gary W. , Cobas José A. , Balcazar Hector , Amling Jeffrey W.
Published: January 2007

The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical model designed to predict risk behavior (i.e., cigarette and/or alcohol use) in a sample of Mexican American females who were pregnant and ranged in age from adolescence to early adulthood. The model consisted of six hypothesized predictors–acculturation status, intergenerational family conflict, acculturative stress, educational attainment, household income, and age of respondent, which were proposed as antecedents of risk behavior. Structural equation modeling was used to test both the direct and indirect effects for a set of proposed antecedents to the tendency for Mexican American females to engage in risk behaviors. Several of the hypothesized relationships were supported, with the strongest predictors of risk behavior being acculturation status, intergenerational family conflict, and acculturative stress. An important conclusion was that risk behavior by Mexican American females increased as they became more acculturated to the social circumstances of the U.S. Another notable result was that risk behavior increased among Mexican American females as they experienced higher levels of intergenerational conflict within their families.
Generational Differences in Attitudes and Socioeconomic Status among Hispanics in Houston
Authors: McKeever Matthew , Klineberg Stephen L.
Published: January 2007

The complex variety of experiences that characterize the current wave of immigration have prompted revisions in the classic model of straight‐line assimilation; the most important alternative theory is based on the concept of “segmented” assimilation. This paper assesses the validity of these two perspectives with data on three generations of Hispanic immigrants in Houston. Contrary to the standard assimilation model, third‐generation Hispanics are not staying in school longer, nor are they earning higher wages than members of the second generation. But contrary to the segmented‐assimilation model, third‐generation Hispanics also give no evidence at all of having assimilated into an “adversarial” culture that rejects mainstream American values and is presumably responsible for restricting their upward mobility. The data reaffirm the pivotal role of education in determining occupational mobility, and they point to the importance of identifying the external societal factors that account for the stalled progress in educational achievement among third‐generation Hispanic Americans.
The Future of Sociology
Authors: Beck Bernard
Published: January 2007

The variety of efforts that have constituted the twentieth‐century sociological project are to be celebrated. Although I am somewhat ambivalent about sociology's future, I am confident of its substantial continuation. Yet I worry about its future as an identifiable scholarly craft on U.S. campuses. Contemporary working sociologists must protect their craft's legacy by making a nurturing place for young scholars in the US. academy.
The Black‐White Achievement Gap, Family‐School Links, and the Importance of Place
Authors: Roscigno Vincent J.
Published: January 2007

African American students continue to drop out of school at a level higher than that of their White counterparts and perform lower, on average, in math and reading achievement. Research has documented influences at the family and school levels, yet little work has dealt with both simultaneously. Equally important, few analyses acknowledge that family and school influences are themselves embedded in, and partially a function of, broader structures and spatial variations in class‐ and race‐based opportunity. I draw from the restricted‐use National Educational Longitudinal Survey and 1990 Census data in addressing these concerns. Findings suggest that disparities in family background and educational resources influence racial gaps in achievement, and sometimes in an interrelated manner. These more proximate influences on achievement are, for all students, influenced by spatial patterns of general, class‐based opportunity. Notably, Black disadvantage is exacerbated even further in areas of high racial inequality. Thus, broader structures of racial and class opportunity, rather than one or the other, are important determinants of educational stratification and achievement. Implications for future research are discussed.
Going Public: How Sociology Might Matter Again
Authors: Black Timothy
Published: January 2007

As the scare of the‘80s demonstrated, sociology finds itself in the dubious position of being vulnerable within the university while being vitally dependent upon the university for its existence. In response, sociology has accommodated market‐driven changes in the university by expanding entrepreneurial forms of research and has struggled to legitimate itself professionally. These quests, however, have removed sociology further from the reaches of the broader public, diminishing its long‐standing tradition of addressing public issues. Re‐establishing the vitality of the discipline will require sociology to reclaim its public. To do so, changes will have to be made within the profession that encourage the role of public intellectuals, while efforts will have to be made to expand public spaces where public discourse and social action can occur.
On the Trail of Courageous Behavior
Authors: Glazer Myron Peretz
Published: January 2007

This article is an examination of courageous behavior as manifested in the activities of American whistleblowers and environmental activists in the United States, Israel, and the former Czechoslovakia. It examines how these dissenters against illegal or unethical behavior were able to sustain their demand for accountable behavior by government and industry. The article, which draws upon interviews with sixty‐four whistle‐blowers and one hundred and forty activists, union officials, business executives and journalists, focuses on the significance of social capital in generating protest; the whistleblowers' and activists' strong cultural commitment to the efficacy of action; their determination to accumulate the evidence and expertise; their ability to secure strategically placed allies; and their mechanisms for overcoming fear and intimidation. The authors conclude by indicating the significance of sociology in analyzing, legitimizing, and publicizing the contributions of courageous individuals to the creation and maintenance of a democratic society.
Accounting for Patterns of Father Involvement: Age of Child, Father‐Child Coresidence, and Father Role Salience
Authors: Bruce Carol , Fox Greer Litton
Published: January 2007

This study examines the extent to which fathers are involved in parenting their children under several conditions, using a multivariate regression model. The model includes the age of the child, father role salience, and the father and child's coresidential status as predictors of father involvement. Although nonresidential fathers tend to be less involved than residential fathers under most conditions, this is not the case for fathers of adolescents who find the father role to be at least moderately salient. Explanations for their greater involvement are proposed, focusing specifically on the unique characteristics of the parent‐child relationship involving an adolescent child and a nonresidential parent.
The Social Bases of Environmental Treaty Ratification, 1900–1990
Authors: Frank David John
Published: January 2007

Most accounts of environmental treaty ratification emphasize the boundedness of states, characterizing ratification as a calculated “choice” of interested, rational actors. Here I present an alternative to this view, depicting nation‐states as constructed of globally legitimated models, including those seen to promote environmental protection. Countries with dense connections to world society are most likely to embody global models of nation‐state environmentalization, regardless of measures of national interests, such as natural degradation, economic development, scientific capacity, or political openness. I test the alternative views in a series of structural equation models with latent variables, analyzing cross‐national variation in the number of international environmental treaties ratified during the periods 1900‐1945, 1946‐1962, 1963‐1972, and 1973‐1990. In every analysis a nation‐state's linkage to world society is the strongest predictor of its number of ratifications. The results lend support to the notion that nation‐states are constituted within a wider world social system, in which environmental protection forms a central and highly legitimate node of discourse and activity.
Not in our Backyard: Solidarity, Social Networks, and the Ecology of Environmental Mobilization
Authors: Kitts James A.
Published: January 2007

This paper explores the role of social networks in channeling individuals’involvement in local activism. A case study of a grassroots environmental group examines variation in members’levels of involvement, using three levels of explanation: individual attributes, strong and weak ties between members, and memberships in other organizations. After demonstrating that high‐ and low‐level members are very similar in personal attributes, it focuses on social ties and organizational affiliations. As expected, the data suggest that an individual's level of involvement is increased by strong ties to other members, structural similarity to other high‐level members, and fewer ties to nonmembers. Extramovement organizational affiliations are often assumed to diminish actors’structural availability, though empirical research in differential recruitment has generally revealed a positive effect on participation in social movements. This study addresses a microstructural explanation for the variation between competition and mutualism in a local multiorganizational field, as it shows how organizational goals condition the effect of outside affiliations on level of participation. Paradoxically, ties to other organizations with irrelevant goals appear to facilitate participation in this group, while ties to groups with congruent goals diminish participation.
Adolescent Perceptions of Interparental Conflict, Stressors, and Coping as Predictors of Adolescent Family Life Satisfaction
Authors: Plunkett Scott W. , Henry Carolyn S.
Published: January 2007

Using family stress theory, this study examined the relationship between adolescent reports of selected demographic variables (gender, age, family form), interparental conflict (style, content, intensity, resolution), stress due to the pileup of stressors, coping strategies (social support, detrimental coping), and adolescent family life satisfaction. The sample was comprised of 155 adolescents ranging from 14 to 18 years of age who completed self‐report questionnaires at one of three rural Oklahoma high schools. Four dimensions of interparental conflict (overt conflict style, conflict about childrearing, conflict about family roles/finances, conflict resolution), stress due to pileup, social support coping, and detrimental coping were significantly related to family life satisfaction. Adolescent age was positively related to family life satisfaction.

Within the scope of family stress theory, scholars have addressed how the combination of stressors and coping strategies relates to the adaptation of individuals within family systems (McCubbin and Patterson 1983). Further, investigations of the relationship of parental divorce to well‐being in children and adolescents suggest that interaction patterns within various family forms may be more fruitful in explaining the adaptation of youth than parental marital status (Demo 1992). The perception by youth of conflict between their parents (i.e., interparental conflict) has emerged as a key family stressor that has the potential to explain variation in adolescent adaptation in a variety of family forms (Buehler, Krishnakumar, Anthony, Tittsworth, and Stone 1994).

Stressor events for adolescents such as interparental conflict generally do not occur in isolation. Rather, they exist within the context of other stressors such as economic stress, difficulties at school, or normative developmental tasks for families with adolescents (e.g., changing family roles to allow greater adolescent autonomy; McCubbin and Patterson 1986). Further, considerable variation exists in the coping strategies (e.g., social support, avoidance) that adolescents use in response to stress (McCubbin and Patterson 1986). Finally, previous research shows variation between certain demographic variables and adolescent adaptation. Thus, the current study was developed to examine how selected demographic variables (gender, age, family form), adolescent perceptions of interparental conflict (style, content, intensity, degree of resolution), stress based on the pileup of stressor events, and coping strategies relate to adolescent satisfaction with family life (one indicator of adaptation).
Consistency between Sentiments and Acts
Authors: Pestello Fred P. , Pestello H. Frances G.
Published: January 2007

Consistency is a concept central to most social science research. In this paper we challenge the typical simplistic assumptions of consistency between words and deeds. We contend that consistency is a complex concept which must be studied through a situated approach. By employing the literature on motives in sociology and communication, we consider the means by which actors construct consistency and inconsistency in social interaction. Central to this process are anticipated, or actual, calls for accountability. Consistency and inconsistency become issues when we attempt to hold self, or other, accountable.
Liability of Foreignness and the Uses of Expatriates in Japanese Multinational Corporations in the United States
Authors: Matsuo Hisako
Published: January 2007

This paper examines the factors which determine the use of expatriates (parent company managers) in Japanese multinational corporations in the United States, addressing the issue of “liability of foreignness” in establishing new ventures in an international context. The paper attempts to explain theoretically the variance in the proportion of expatriates used across these United States subsidiaries, drawing on the resource dependence theory. Previous research suggests that when liabilities of foreignness are high, and when there is a need to develop organizational forms that insure reliable resource flows to coordinate activities, then Japanese multinational corporations will substitute expatriates for local personnel. Data on 3,119 corporate establishments are derived from the section on the United States ofKaigai Shinshutsu Kigyo Soran[List of Japanese‐Owned Firms Abroad] (Toyokeizai 1995), seeing Japanese expatriates as agents who engage in transactions of necessary resources with surrounding corporations and with the parent companies.
Deterrence: Testing the Effects of Perceived Sanction Certainty on Probation Violations
Authors: Maxwell Sheila Royo , Gray M. Kevin
Published: January 2007

Deterrence theory has been repeatedly used to explain individuals’choices to commit vs. not commit crimes. Its utilitarian premise is that individuals will choose to commit or not commit crimes based on the certainty, swiftness, and severity of punishments. This study examines the perceived certainty of sanctions among offenders mandated into intensive probation and the effects of varying levels of perceived sanction certainty in deterring offenders from violating probation requirements. Data from an Intensive Supervision Probation program in New Jersey are used. Results support the salience of offenders’perceptions of sanction certainty on their intensive probation outcomes, and implications for policy are discussed.
Perceptions of Equal Opportunity among Women and Minority Army Personnel
Authors: Moore Brenda L. , Webb Schuyler C.
Published: January 2007

Equal opportunity (EO) is recognized by the Department of Defense (DoD) as being crucial to maintaining a high state of military readiness. In the last two and a half decades, a number of EO initiatives have been employed by the DoD and each of the military services in an effort to promote fair treatment of minorities and women. Social science literature suggests that the integration of racial minorities, particularly African American males, is a military success story. Some social scientists argue convincingly that the military has far surpassed civilian organizations in integrating African Americans.

While the U.S. military has had a long history of addressing racial issues, problems concerning gender have only recently been addressed on a large scale. Some scholars assert that the military is the last male bastion in the United States. It lags behind the civilian sector in integrating women.

This study examines the perceptions of active‐duty men and women in the U.S. Army to determine whether minority men are more satisfied with the equal opportunity climate than women and whether minority women are less satisfied with the equal opportunity climate than non‐minority (White) women. The purpose of this study is twofold: One objective is to examine differences within the gender category, i.e., African American, Hispanic, and White women. The other objective is to explore differences across gender. Degree of satisfaction is measured by responses to items on the Military Equal Opportunity Climate Survey (MEOCS). The data were stratified by rank level, officer and enlisted, and a General Linear Model (GLM) was performed with race, gender, and the interaction of race and gender as independent variables. In the final analysis, the data were stratified by paygrade, and a GLM was performed on each part separately. Among the findings, race is a more powerful predictor of the attitudes of active‐duty men and women toward the EO climate in their units than either gender or the interaction of race and gender. While gender is significant in most of the statistical models, and the interaction of gender and race is sometimes significant, these variables explain less than one percent of the variance. Although African American men are generally more satisfied with the EO climate than African American women, they are less satisfied than White and, in some cases, Hispanic men and women.
Concern, Caution, and Care: HIV Risk Perception among Hospital Nurses
Authors: Polgar Michael F.
Published: January 2007

Nurses routinely confront uncertainties surrounding the risk of occupationally transmitted HIV, particularly in the context of hospital AIDS care. Nurses respond to their perception of this HIV risk with a mixture of concern, caution, and care. This study empirically examines HIV risk perception based on a survey of hospital nurses in U.S. cities with high HIV seroprevalence rates. There is variation in the degree to which hospital nurses worry about HIV at work, despite widespread use of universal precautions. Occupational HIV risk perception is associated with knowledge of workplace transmission vectors, comfort with AIDS patients, AIDS care experience, and working conditions. Results show that nurses on AIDS care units are more habituated to HIV risk, whereas those with less AIDS care knowledge, tolerance, and experience are more concerned about HIV Consequently, nurses who worry less about being infected with HIV are more willing to perform AIDS care, predict plans to continue AIDS care in the future, and report more equal treatment of people with AIDS. Supportive workplaces which reduce stress and emotional exhaustion, together with enhanced and improved training for hospital nurses, may temper provider concerns and improve the continuity and quality of care.
The Relation between Parental Constructive Behavior and Adolescent Association with Achievement‐Oriented Peers: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Chen Zeng‐yin
Published: January 2007

There is abundant research about the negative influences of peer groups and other factors contributing to adolescent involvement with deviant peers. This study used three waves of panel data to investigate the relation between parental constructive behavior and adolescent association with achievement‐oriented peers. Parental constructive behavior was found to be positively related to adolescents’own achievement orientation a year later, which in turn was positively related to the perceived achievement orientation of friends two years later. However, adolescents’own achievement orientation did not completely mediate the effect of parental constructive behavior on the perceived achievement orientation of friends. Furthermore, after the prior perceived achievement orientation of friends was added into the model, parental constructive behavior still had a direct effect on the perceived achievement orientation of friends over time. Parental constructive behavior contributed to the affiliation with achievement‐oriented friends above and beyond the effects of adolescents’own achievement orientation and their prior peer affiliation.
Motherhood and the Construction of Feminist Identities: Variations in a Women's Movement Organization
Authors: Reger Jo
Published: January 2007

This paper examines the relationship between feminism and motherhood as it plays out in the construction of feminist identities. Through a qualitative analysis of two grassroots chapters of the National Organization for Women (NOW), I examine how members’understandings and experiences with motherhood and their community context and organizational environment shape the construction of shared feminist identities. Central to this study is the conception of motherhood as a historically constructed ideology that provides a gendered model of behavior for women. In the organizations studied, I find that motherhood is interpreted two ways: as a social status with political ramifications and as the act of caring and taking responsibility for relationships. These interpretations are incorporated into “frames” extended to potential recruits and shape the group's actions. As a result these two ideologically similar liberal feminist organizations construct distinct feminist identities.
Sing a Song of Drug Use‐Abuse: Four Decades of Drug Lyrics in Popular Music–From the Sixties through the Nineties
Authors: Markert John
Published: January 2007

Songs dealing with illegal drugs have long dotted popular music. It was not until the aftermath of the sixties youth counterculture, however, that drug lyrics became a recurring musical motif. In the decades since, the lyrical treatment of drugs has undergone change. Heroin and cocaine have largely, though not exclusively, been treated antagonistically, with the animosity toward cocaine becoming more pronounced after crack cocaine was introduced in the mid‐1980s. Marijuana, on the other hand, has generally been perceived as innocuous, if not positively assessed, and this treatment has crossed the decades into the nineties. In more recent years, however, the positive assessment of marijuana has undergone change, with younger musicians more likely to decry the harm that drugs do than older musicians do. This prosocial aspect of contemporary popular music has been largely ignored.
The Role of Caring in the Teacher‐Student Relationship for At‐Risk Students
Authors: Muller Chandra
Published: January 2007

This study uses information from both teachers and students to explore how the perceptions of each other's investment in the relationship affects the productivity of the relationship. Using the National Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), I analyze the conditions and academic consequences of students’investment in the relationship with teachers and school. I find that teachers’perceptions that the student puts forth academic effort and students’perceptions that teachers are caring are each weakly associated with mathematics achievement for most students. For students who are judged by their teachers as at risk of dropping out of high school, however, the value for math achievement of having teachers who care is substantial and mitigates against the negative effect of having been judged as at risk. The results suggest that social capital, as defined by a relationship that facilitates action, is especially high for at‐risk students who feel their teachers are interested, expect them to succeed, listen to them, praise their effort, and care.
The Effects of Family Structure of Origin on Offspring Cohabitation Duration
Authors: Wolfinger Nicholas H.
Published: January 2007

This study uses data from both waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the effects of family structure of origin on offspring's cohabiting unions. Parental divorce substantially decreases the likelihood that these relationships end in marriage, but this effect is almost completely ameliorated by parental remarriage. Parental divorce also increases the chances that a cohabiting relationship will break up, but the effect is much smaller than the impact of parental divorce on marital stability. I explain this discrepancy by showing that cohabitation is inherently unstable compared to marriage. In a context of instability, family structure of origin makes less difference than it does in marriage.
Mental Maps: Social Networks and the Language of Critical Reviews
Authors: Giuffre Katherine
Published: January 2007

This study uses network analysis to examine the correspondence, based on Bourdieu's theory of cultural production, between artists’positions in a structure of social relations and the critics’conceptions of their work. Shared gallery memberships among fine art photographers yield person‐by‐person matrices that are partitioned into structurally equivalent blocks. Three types of actors emerge: “stars” who have large loose‐knit networks of bridge ties, “invisible collegians” who inhabit small dense cliques, and “stragglers” who have difficulty maintaining any sort of foothold in the network. Critical reviews of the photographers in the population are then analyzed for stylistic references, and the photographers are matched to stylistic categories. A match emerges between the types of networks and the stylistic perceptions of the critics. “Stars” are categorized with a wide variety of stylistic terms, often contradictory in nature. “Invisible collegians” and “stragglers” are routinely fit into one stylistic camp or another. Multiplying the person by style matrix by its transpose yields a person‐by‐person matrix of perceived shared stylistic affinity. “Stars” in this matrix have higher scores of both degree and “betweenness” centrality.
Building the Sustainable Community: Is Social Capital the Answer?
Authors: Bridger Jeffrey C. , Luloff A. E.
Published: January 2007

Over the past decade, environmental sustainability has emerged as a prominent theme in the community development literature. In fact, the concept has become a standard feature of most economic and social development plans. Most models of sustainable community development stress the importance of widespread participation in the decision‐making process. Unfortunately, community studies document numerous barriers to broad involvement and the high level of activeness envisioned by proponents of sustainable community development. In searching for ways to overcome these barriers, scholars and policymakers have embraced the idea that we can enhance efforts to create more sustainable communities by increasing the local stock of social capital. We examine this line of reasoning in light of what we view as the most important conceptual issues surrounding the relationship between social capital and sustainable community development. We conclude that before social capital is endorsed as a central component of public policy, much work remains to be done in terms of developing a more precise definition of the concept, situating it within extant theories of community, constructing better measures of social capital, documenting the activities and networks most important in building social capital, and gaining a better understanding of the forms of social capital that are most important in developing sustainable communities.
A Comparison of the Gatehouse Bullying Scale and the Peer Relations Questionnaire for Students in Secondary School
Authors: Bond Lyndal , Wolfe Sarah , Tollit Michelle , Butler Helen , Patton George
Published: January 2007

Background:  Bullying occurs in all schools. Measuring bullying in schools is complicated because both definitions of bullying and methods for measuring bullying vary. This study compared a brief 12‐item Gatehouse Bullying Scale (GBS) with items drawn from the Peer Relations Questionnaire (PRQ), a well‐established bullying questionnaire to measure the concurrent validity of the GBS.

Methods:  Year 8 secondary school students (14 years of age) in metropolitan and regional Victoria, Australia, completed questionnaires assessing being teased, being deliberately left out, had rumors spread about oneself, and/or being physically threatened or hurt.

Results:  The prevalence of bullying using GBS and PRQ was 57% and 61%, respectively. Percent agreement between the 2 measures was high. Agreement adjusted for chance was moderate (kappa 0.5). The GBS had good to moderate test‐retest reliability (rho 0.65).

Conclusions:  The GBS is a short, reliable tool measuring the occurrence of bullying in schools. As well as a global estimate of bullying, the GBS provides estimates of 2 covert and 2 overt types of bullying which can be useful for schools to better plan interventions dealing with school bullying.
Chinese Yuan after Chinese Exchange Rate System Reform
Authors: Ogawa Eiji , Sakane Michiru
Published: January 2007

In this paper, the actual exchange rate policy conducted by the Chinese government after the Chinese exchange rate system reform on 21 July 2005 is investigated. Also, the long‐run effect is investigated, including the Balassa‐Samuelson effect on the Chinese yuan. It was found that the Chinese government generated a statistically significant but small change in exchange rate policy during the sample period until 25 January 2006. It was not identified that the Chinese monetary authority is adopting the currency basket system because the change is too small in the economic sense. It is indicated that the Chinese government should take account of the productivity growth of countries composing the currency basket in order to operate a currency basket regime.

(Edited by Xiaoming Feng)
Effect of Reynolds Number and Periodic Unsteady Wake Flow Condition on Boundary Layer Development, Separation, and Intermittency Behavior Along the Suction Surface of a Low Pressure Turbine Blade
Authors: Schobeiri M. T. , Öztürk B. , Ashpis David E.
Published: January 2007

The paper experimentally studies the effects of periodic unsteady wake flow and Reynolds number on boundary layer development, separation, reattachment, and the intermittency behavior along the suction surface of a low pressure turbine blade. Extensive unsteady boundary layer experiments were carried out at Reynolds numbers of 110,000 and 150,000 based on suction surface length and exit velocity. One steady and two different unsteady inlet flow conditions with the corresponding passing frequencies, wake velocities, and turbulence intensities were investigated. The analysis of the experimental data reveals details of boundary layer separation dynamics which is essential for understanding the physics of the separation phenomenon under periodic unsteady wake flow and different Reynolds numbers. To provide a complete picture of the transition process and separation dynamics, extensive intermittency analysis was conducted. Ensemble-averaged maximum and minimum intermittency functions were determined, leading to the relative intermittency function. In addition, the detailed intermittency analysis was aimed at answering the question as to whether the relative intermittency of a separated flow fulfills the universality criterion.