bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Security Reform: Start With the Facts
Authors: Patterson Martha Priddy
Published: March 2007

Before beginning the debate on much-needed changes to the Social Security system, reform investigators need to look at the facts before attempting to develop solutions, says the author. Too many people—and even some members of Congress—do not understand what protections besides retirement income the Social Security benefit provides and who it provides for, she argues. Once these facts are understood, projections of future program costs become critical in steering the debate. Under the Social Security Board of Trustees' best estimates to date, by the year 2013, Social Security payments will exceed income. By the year 2032, Social Security assets will be depleted. Though these projections are not certainties, "we need to act now," says the author. Should we change the entire system, or will modifying it be enough?

Reviewing various reform proposals, the author states that, whatever options are being considered in the Social Security reform debate, employer-provided plans and individual savings are critical to any retirement planning program. In weighing and ultimately adopting the new proposals, "compensation and benefits managers can play a special role," says the author, and "facts, not rhetoric, must be the starting focus."
Group Legal Insurance: An Effective Recruiting and Retaining Tool
Authors: Brennan Jim
Published: March 2007

As employers struggle to provide competitive compensation packages in a demanding labor market, group legal insurance—an ancillary benefit that allows employees access to legal advice and representation in a timely, affordable manner—has become an increasingly popular offering in benefits packages. According to a William M. Mercer Inc. survey of employee benefit preferences, more than half of the survey respondents felt group legal insurance would influence their choice of employer, and 30% felt it would improve their productivity on the job. A group legal plan that incorporates flexible service and payment options, easy attorney accessibility for employees, and minimal start-up and maintenance time for benefits personnel can make group legal insurance plans an attractive benefit.
Less Eligibility: The Upper Limits Of Penal Policy
Authors: Sieh Edward W.
Published: March 2007

The principle of less eligibility stipulates that if imprisonment is to act as a deterrent the treatment given a prisoner should not be superior to that provided a member of the lowest significant social class in the free society. Less eligibility is a powerful concept that has greatly influenced the policies and operations of the correctional system but has rarely been discussed in any detail. This work will consider the history of less eligibility stemming from the English Poor Laws and the writings of Jeremy Bentham and then present an analysis of the principle relative to sentencing discretion, deterrence, prison reform, the quality of prison life, convict labor, rehabilitation programs, jail practices, and post-release experiences.
The Mapp, Escobedo, And Miranda Decisions: Do They Serve A Liberal Or A Conservative Agenda
Authors: Alexander Rudolph
Published: March 2007

During the 60s, several major criminal cases were decided in the defendants favor by the United States Supreme Court. Following each decision, politicians, law enforcement officers, and lay persons decried the actions of the court for handcuffing law enforcement. Moreover, these critics charged, and continue to charge today, that the Supreme Court was favoring accused/criminal rights at the expense of society and victims. The purpose of this paper is to reexamine three decisions— Mapp v. Ohio (1961), Escobedo v. Illinois (1964), and especially the anathematized Miranda v. Arizona (1966)— that upset law enforcement officers and political officials and to determine if the critics' fears were warranted. A reexamination of the decisions reveals that the United States Supreme Court had legitimate reasons for ruling as it did. Furthermore, Miranda v. Arizona, the most vilified of the three decisions, has had border ramifications for all citizens beyond the narrow view commonly held by Miranda's critics.
A Perspective On Determinate Sentencing
Authors: Neithercutt M.G. , Carmichael B.G. , Mullen Kenneth
Published: March 2007

This paper reports on criminal histories of a group of persons with serious offending patterns. In these cases, offense seriousness remains stable—and intermediate—throughout eleven convictions. We conclude that "determinate sentencing" does not increase term lengths; only late in these careers do longer prison sentences become more likely than under the indeterminate system.
Determinants Of Corrections Expenditures In The American States: An Exploratory Analysis*
Authors: Taggart William A. , Winn Russell G.
Published: March 2007

This exploratory study seeks to shed light on the complexities surrounding the determinants of state corrections expenditures. Employing a framework composed of external environmental characteristics and internal institutional characteristics, the investigation focuses on the absolute and relative influence of six groups of variables on per capita spending by the 48 contiguous states in 1984. Generally, the findings indicate that variables associated with a state's external environment offer the best predictors of corrections expenditures. Significant internal variables are limited both in number and in importance. Implications and suggestions for future research in this area are discussed in the conclusion.
Resisting Limits on Discretion: Implementation Issues of Juvenile Dispositional Guidelines
Authors: Barton William H.
Published: March 2007

In 1993, the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families introduced an objective guidelines instrument to help determine eligibility for placement at the state's juvenile training school. The instrument was intended to improve the consistency of dispositions and narrow training school placements to serious and/or chronic offenders by focusing recommendations on youths' offense characteristics and placing limits on the discretion of probation officers and judges. An evaluation of the implementation and impact of the guidelines analyzed one year's use of the instrument and surveyed probation officers' and judges' atti tudes towards and experiences with the guidelines. The results show that the guidelines did not have their intended impact because they were not truly implemented. The officials and staff charged with using them resist ed the limits the guidelines attempted to place on discretion. A consider ation of why the implementation failed sheds light on the process of implementing policy innovations in juvenile justice settings.
Theoretical Perspectives On Correctional Structure, Evaluation, and Change
Authors: Ogle Robbin S.
Published: March 2007

Despite the criticisms of some sociologists that the Technical/Rational Model is too one-dimensional to capture the complexity of a social insti tution, scholars studying, evaluating, and recommending change in cor rectional organizations have historically utilized this perspective. This model ignores the equal, if not overwhelming, significance of culture and ideology in the evolution, operation, structure, resistance to change, and persistence of correctional organizations. Ignoring the cultural or ideo logical aspects of corrections confines our understanding to instrumental "action" related activities and results. This narrowly limits both our understanding of corrections as a "social institution" with a variety of functions in society and our ability to generate change in the organization so that it evolves with the society. This has resulted in two problems: 1) consistently negative instrumental evaluations of the organization and 2) resignation leading to reckless and unsuccessful change. Scholars in the sociology of punishment have enhanced our understanding of punish ment's place and development in society, repeatedly warning that culture and ideology are not secondary to instrumental action, that social institu tions both create and reaffirm culture and ideology. This article offers an alternative model for understanding correctional organizations which incorporates culture and ideology and may provide more useful evalua tions for policy decisions on change in corrections.
Congress, Symbolic Politics and the Evolution of 1994 "Violence Against Women Act"
Authors: Stolz Barbara Ann
Published: March 2007

A relatively new addition to the thirty-year old Congressional crime agenda is domestic violence. Congressional consideration of a federal criminal justice response to domestic violence, which began in 1990, resulted in the enactment of the "Violence Against Women Act," Title IV of the "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994" (P.L. 103-322). By enacting this legislation, Congress sent a message to the public that domestic violence is "criminal behavior" and a national crime problem, deserving of Congressional attention. This article examines the evolution of 1994 "Violence against Women Act" between 1990 and 1994 from the perspective of symbolic politics. Such an approach provides insight into the Congressional criminal justice policy-making process and suggests an explanation as to why Congress, collectively, was galvanized to act on this issue in 1994.
The Leninist Debris or Waiting for Perón
Authors: Tismaneanu Vladimir
Published: March 2007

The clearest fact is that we are living in a time of transition, but whether we are going toward liberty or marching toward despotism, God alone knows precisely.

Alexis de Tocqueville, 1831.
Breastfeeding by a Mother Who is a Triple Amputee: A Case Report
Authors: Dunne Geraldine , Fuerst Kimberly
Published: March 2007

Breastfeeding can be especially difficult for the physically challenged mother. This case report describes the challenges encountered by one disabled mother. A strong desire to succeed and a good support system, as well as being able to adapt to circumstances, formed the basis for success.
Nipple Wound Care: A New Approach to an Old Problem
Authors: Cable Bonnie , Stewart Marcia , Davis Jennifer
Published: March 2007

Nipple soreness and nipple trauma have long been associated with breastfeeding, and persist despite the many clinical advancements in the field of lactation. Management of nipple wounds has been approached in a variety of ways over the years in an attempt to treat and resolve this problem. Incorporating the scientific principles of modem wound care management can provide additional effective treatment options. Wounds are characterized by depth and extent of tissue destruction, regardless of their location on the body. Current wound treatment methods employ the use of moisture to aid healing. A moist environment is critical for epithelization, the proliferation and migration of epithelial cells across the surface of a wound during healing. Nipple wounds also heal by this process. Using a particular type of wound dressing, a hydrogel sheet wound covering, on a nipple wound offers several advantages. These dressings help maintain a moist environment, decrease the chance of bacterial infection, are easy to use, and provide immediate pain relief.
Weight Change During Lactation Does Not Alter the Concentrations of Chlorinated Organic Contaminants in Breast Milk of Women with Low Exposure
Authors: Lovelady Cheryl A. , Whitehead Ruth A. , McCrory Megan A. , Nommsen-Rivers Laurie A. , Mabury Scott , Dewey Kathryn G.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to evaluate whether a loss of body fat during lactation between 4 and 20 wk postpartum increases the concentration of environmental contaminants in breast milk. We examined this relationship in two different cohorts of exclusively breastfeeding women: (1) California women with low exposure to contaminants (n=O0 whose weight was stable [mean change, 0.0 0.2 kg] and n= 1 who lost weight [mean loss, -4.1 ± 0.4 kg]) and (2) Hispanic women (n=30) who had recently immigrated to North Carolina, primarily from Mexico, and were presumed to have a higher prior exposure to contaminants. Breast milk samples were analyzed for hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and DDT and its related products. There was no significant relationship between change in body composition and change in milk contaminant concentrations in either California or North Carolina women. Concentrations of HCB were similar between the California and North Carolina women, but those of DDT and related products were higher in the North Carolina subjects. Results suggest that moderate weight loss in lactating women with low exposure to environmental contaminants does not increase contaminant concentration in breast milk.
Managing Emotions, Intimacy, and Relationships in a Volunteer Search and Rescue Group
Authors: LOIS JENNIFER
Published: March 2007

In this article, the author examines interpersonal emotion management during crisis situations. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with a volunteer search and rescue group, she shows how rescuers managed victims' and families' intense emotions during searches and rescues, which led them to form unusually rapid and intimate bonds with these strangers. After the rescues, some victims and families sustained the newly intimate relationship with rescuers, repaying them with monetary donations and emotions like gratitude, while others terminated the relationship altogether. The author concludes by discussing the effects of interpersonal emotion management on victims' and families' selves and on their relationship with rescuers. She also extends the theoretical model of the socioemotional economy by incorporating the concept of interpersonal emotion management.
Surviving in a Material World
Authors: HILL RONALD PAUL
Published: March 2007

This article examines the consumer “cycle of poverty” using a decade of ethnographic research on the material lives of the poor. For the purposes of this article, composite portraits of six different poverty subpopulations were developed in an attempt to capture the lived experience of such individuals. These composites were written as six short stories that represent the source of ethnographic evidence used to inform five thematic categories. Implications for ethnographers, the broader consumer research community, and public policy makers are provided in the close.
The Meanings of Lesbian and Gay Pride Day
Authors: KATES STEVEN M. , BELK RUSSELL W.
Published: March 2007

Lesbian and Gay Pride Day (LGPD) is investigated as a collective ritual of consumer resistance. Over the period of four years, five LGPD festivals were attended and participant observed. Furthermore, to provide a more in-depth perspective on the meanings of this celebration for consumers, forty-four gay men were interviewed about the festival. Emergent findings reveal the festival as a carnivalesque celebration of excess, a construction of authenticity, and a contested commercialized experience. Overall, we interpret LGPD as a complex, multilayered form of consumption-related cultural resistance that raises awareness of social injustice and discursively informs social meanings in everyday life outside the festival.
FUN CITY: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY, Jerry Jacobs, New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1974. 84 pp. $2.75 (paper)
Authors: Cuellar Jose B.
Published: March 2007

These studies are selected and annotated by the New Ethnographies Editor and by readers who discover ethnographies, write annotations of them, and send in these annotations. Readers are invited to report ethnographies they discover, especially those found in irregular sources, including M.A. and Ph.D. theses. They will be printed, with credit, within limits of space and multiple submission. Please limit the annotations to about 150-200 words. Direct all correspondence to John M. Johnson, New Ethnographies Editor, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85281.
Camera Clubs and Fine Art Photography
Authors: Schwartz Dona
Published: March 2007

In establishing the medium as a fine art form, photographers have sought to make distinctions between art photography and all other uses of the medium, both amateur and professional. Drawing upon ethnographic research comparing the activities of camera club and fine art photography, the evolution of an elite visual aesthetic is examined. While the photographic industry has worked to convince the public that photography is an easily accessible medium, art photographers' activities, in contrast, are characterized by their exclusivity, linking them with less accessible media such as painting and sculpture. Fine art codes are viewed as symbolic mechanisms of social differentiation.
Mental Illness Assumptions in Civil Commitment Proceedings
Authors: Holstein James A.
Published: March 2007

Under reformed commitment legislation, mental illness alone is insufficient grounds for mental hospitalization. Nonetheless, judges of involuntary commitment hearings operate under the working assumption that persons sought to be committed are mentally ill, and this assumption shapes all other aspects of their evaluations. This article treats the mental illness assumption as an experiental reality and explores the ways in which the assumption influences judges' assessments of candidate patients' courtroom demeanor, testimony, and behavior. It examines the assumption's effect on judges' evaluations of the tenability of these persons' proposed community living arrangements and suggests that contemporary commitment practices tend to enforce a sort of “community custody” upon those persons who avoid commitment.
SAD TALES IN INSTITUTIONS
Authors: WARREN CAROL A. B. , MESSINGER SHELDON L.
Published: March 2007

This essay proposes a theoretical model of sad-tale telling in total institutions. We explore two dimensions of sad tales: their reparative function in relation to behavior or status, and their telling by self or others. We contrast the types and functions of tales told during the institutional and ex-institutional phases of the stigmatized's moral career. Although our model is concerned with the micropolitics of sad tales in institutions, we note the importance of the macropolitics, or historical and structural determinants of sad-tale telling.
FITTING FAMILIES AND RESEARCH STRATEGY
Authors: BEACH BETTY A.
Published: March 2007

Fifteen work-at-home families (57 adults and children) participated in a qualitative study examining their work-family interaction. Interviews with parents and children, time logs, and observations portrayed a family life where work-family roles were ambiguous and where work demands were rearranged to meet family needs.
THE PROBLEM OF THE CONCEPT:
Authors: HAMMERSLEY MARTYN
Published: March 2007

The question of the relationship between concepts and data is central to sociological methodology. It is also an issue that divides quantitative and ethnographic approaches. The most influential ethnographic treatment of this problem is that provided by Herbert Blumer. This article offers a detailed account and a critical assessment of Blumer's position. Its conclusion is that while his discussion of the problem is instructive he fails to provide a convincing solution.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND LOCAL POWER
Authors: HUNTER ALBERT
Published: March 2007

The study of elites by definition must be concerned with power, and power also enters into the ethnographer's research relationships. The reflexive interplay of knowledge and power in research therefore involves a political act as it affects the differential distribution of knowledge and power in society. The ethnographic study of local community elites specifically requires an understanding of the community context in which elites are embedded, the communal system that is the base and arena of their power. Three dimensions of community—the ecology of the community and its physical setting, the social structure of informal individual and formal institutional relationships, and the cultural symbolic system, “the local patois”—must be explored to come to an understanding of local elites. These three elements are seen to enter into the very conduct of field research itself, and fieldwork can be sensitively and self-reflexively used, in turn, to elucidate the operation of these elements among elites. Selected examples are drawn from the extensive literature of community power studies and from over two decades of different field studies by the author on local community elites.
“REALITY TALK” OR “TELLING TALES”?
Authors: NELSON E. D. (ADIE) , ROBINSON B. W.
Published: March 2007

Based on the senior author's participant observations as an “expert” guest panelist on an American nationally syndicated television talk show in summer 1992, it is suggested that in its presentation of “sexually deviant” behavior, the content of this “reality talk” show may be viewed as the product of scripted behavior that reinforces and replicates culturally normative views of gender and sexuality. Rather than viewing the disclosures presented before the cameras as either “spontaneous” or “true confessions,” the entire program may be more accurately seen as offering a deliberately crafted and stylized depiction of its subject matter.
FIRST-PERSON SINGULAR AND PLURAL
Authors: PILLSBURY GERALD
Published: March 2007

John Hewitt has argued that because American culture sees individualism and collectivism as two valued but opposed alternatives, it encourages Americans to construct their identities pragmatically. This study examines the specific forms that pragmatic strategy takes in a collectivist context: membership on a basketball team. Using a semiotic conception of self, the author analyzes team members' use of personal pronouns. Taking “I” to indicate an independent, autonomous self and “we” to indicate an interdependent, contextually defined self, these basketball players' discourse reveals four patterns of managing the two selves: (1) one pronoun replaces the other, (2) “we” transforms “I” into a generic individual, (3) both selves coexist, and (4) one self speaks through the other. The author concludes that the concept of the pragmatic strategy of self-construction is too broad of a label to be useful and argues for far greater attention to more specific patterns of self-construction.
Revisiting Inner-City Strips: A Framework for Community and Economic Development
Authors: Loukaitou-Sideris Anastasia
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on the commercial strips of the American inner city, many of which are currently characterized by major decay and disinvestment. After a brief historic overview of the evolution and decay of inner-city commercial strips, the article turns to fieldwork research. The study uses case studies from Los Angeles for an assessment of the current economic environment of inner-city strips. Drawing information from surveys of inner-city residents and merchants along three corridors and focus group research with merchants along a fourth corridor, the article reports the perils and potential of business development along the strips and outlines suggestions for economic improvement and community development.
Financing the Development of Urban Minority Communities: Lessons of History
Authors: Bates Timothy
Published: March 2007

Government intervention in financial markets seeks to alter capital availability patterns that disadvantage minorities and low-income people. The desire to increase access to credit for these underserved groups motivated President Clinton to launch the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) program. In fact, CDFI-like institutions proliferated in the late 1960s, and many of them still exist. The Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Company (MESBIC) program, started in 1969, created several hundred privately owned firms that finance inner city-situated and/or minority-owned small businesses. This study uses U.S. Small Business Administration records to analyze the impacts of actual MESBIC investments in small businesses. Strategies used by MESBICs that actively financed minority business enterprises are identified, and the traits of effective MESBICs are contrasted to traits of those that have shut down. Nearly 100 MESBICs remain active today, and the track record of the program over the past 30 years offers a wealth of insights to present-day proponents of CDFIs.
State Science and Technology Policies: An Assessment
Authors: Schmandt Jurgen , Wilson Robert H.
Published: March 2007

In the late 1970s, state governments began adopting "high-tech" policies designed to promote economic development through support of research and technological innovation. This paper first examines the trend of increased activism of state government and the historical precedent of state action in science and technology. Based on field work in eight states, existing programs and policies are grouped. These programs and policy clusters are examined to determine whether they represent new state policy roles. A prognosis of the evolution of this policy field is made and areas in need of further research are identified.
Rankings of State Business Climates: An Evaluation of their Usefulness in Forecasting
Authors: Skoro Charles L.
Published: March 2007

Three of the most prominent annual state business climate rankings (Grant-Thornton, Inc. magazine, and Corporation for Enterprise Development) are described with careful attention paid to the elements that go into the rankings and their weights. Then rankings from the 1981 Grant Thornton and 1982 Inc. studies are correlated with subsequent economic performance of states. The results show that what little predictive power the business climate rankings have can be explained by elements in the rankings that measure recent economic performance in the states. In fact, the measures of recent economic performance that are used in constructing the business climate rankings generally turn out to be better predictors of subsequent economic performance than the rankings themselves
Federal Economic Development Programs and National Urban Policy
Authors: James Franklin J.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the recent history of federal economic development programs and of national urban policy. It finds that federal economic development programs have thrived only during administrations with strong urban policy commitments. Administrations that have lacked such commitments such as the Nixon and Reagan administrations-have generally been inimical to federal economic development effort. This linkage is not surprising: Urban economic distress provides a rationale and a constituency for federal economic development programs. The Reagan administration has argued that stronger city economies have reduced the need for an urban policy or for federal economic development efforts. The article reviews available evidence on the economic well-being of the residents of bigger cities and on the health of the city economies during the 1980s. The evidence is clear that economic well-being of city residents has continued to deteriorate relative to that of the U.S as a whole. City population losses have slowed or stopped in many instances during the 1980s, but poverty and unemployment remain very high. The need for federal intervention is no less than in the past. Cities are in a much weaker political position than they were during the 1970s. The likelihood that future presidents will adopt urban policies is thus problematic. Advocates of federal economic development programs should view the development of a national urban policy as a necessary (though not sufficient) condition for the revitalization of geographically targeted economic development programs of the federal level.
Office-Housing Linkage Programs: A Review of the Issues
Authors: Goetz Edward G.
Published: March 2007

This article reviews the literature on office-housing linkage programs. Though linkage programs enjoy considerable popular support, they tend to highlight existing political anatagonisms between neighborhood and downtown interest groups. City officials wishing to implement a linkage program need to delicately balance those interests while safeguarding against possible legal pitfalls and attending to numerouspolicy design questions. Evidence suggests that linkage is likely to be a viable option for only a few cities experiencing a rather narrow set of economic and political circumstances. However, where it can be implemented, it can be very successful
Working in a Turbulent Environment: Perspectives of Economic Development Practitioners
Authors: Rubin Herbert J.
Published: March 2007

The relationship between environmental turbulence and the economic development strategies followed by municipalities is described. A belief that the economic environment is not controllable is associated with an increase in formalistic activities, as well as a sense that economic development policies redistribute wealth to businesses. In more placid environments, attention is paid to improving public and private cooperation. Though local economic conditions as well as the amount of political pressure influence economic development approaches, the effect of turbulence remains important.
The Case for State-Level Export Promotion Assistance: A Comparison of Foreign and Domestic Export Employment Multipliers
Authors: Webster Elaine , Mathis Edward J. , Zech Charles E.
Published: March 2007

Most states are currently engaged in some form of foreign export assistance as part of the state's overall economic development strategy. However, this raises the question as to whether scarce state economic development resources should be diverted from the more traditional economic development programs in order to fund foreign export stimulation. This study develops and tests a model to compare the employment multiplier of foreign exports with that of domestic exports. The results indicate that the foreign export employment multiplier is significantly greater than the domestic multiplier This lends support to a policy of using state economic development funds for foreign export development.
Incubating High-Technology Firms: State Economic Development Strategies for Biotechnology
Authors: Blakely Edward J. , Nishikawa Nancy
Published: March 2007

State economic development agencies are engaged in a variety of efforts to increase the capacity of the state to attract or create new biotechnology firms. Some states have established well-endowed organizations dedicated to promoting biotechnology, whereas others have adopted more modest programs or have incorporated biotechnology issues into other policy areas, such as education or agriculture. Despite the range of organizational forms and purposes, there is evidence of a common paradigm, "the incubator model " being used by state policymakers with respect to biotechnological economic development activity. The thrust of this strategy is to create a set of conditions that will nurture technological innovation and the formation of indigenous firms. The incubator model provides a coherent conceptual framework for policy makers to pursue a slate of recognizable programs. Changes in the structure of commercial biotechnology, particularly increasing fragmentation and externalization of productive relations, suggest that the local resources identified as the incubation base may provide regions with a competitive edge.
Competition and Cooperation in Economic Development: A Study of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area
Authors: Goetz Edward G. , Kayser Terrence
Published: March 2007

The competition between local governments for economic development is generally regarded as producing both inefficiencies and inequities. Competition forces governments to increase subsidies and incentives offered to private firms, favors new firms over existing businesses, and often results in merely the relocation of investment rather than in increased levels of private sector activity. Economic development policies in the Twin Cities metropolitan area are examined to determine the extent and patterns of competition as well as the potential for cooperative development between neighboring governments. The findings reveal that competition and cooperation are not opposites, and in fact exist side by side. Although prospects for cooperative approaches seem good, competition is also likely to continue.
Rural Development Policy: Breaking the Cargo Cult Mentality
Authors: Honadle Beth Walter
Published: March 2007

A comprehensive national rural development policy has been thwarted by at least five factors: inaccurate rural stereotypes, perceived conflicts between urban and rural interests, competition among rural development advocacy groups, declining rural population, and fragmentation of rural development within Congress. Rather than formulate a coherent strategic policy for rural development, the last several presidential administrations have substituted rhetoric and procedural changes for real action. They have cut programs and slashed technical-assistance efforts in the name of efficiency and used terms like coordination, targeting, and improved access to make existing programs more responsive. Despite the clear focus of federal policy makers on urban and international issues, rural development advocates behave like cargo cults, religious sects that wait for material goods to be brought by magic by the spirits of their ancestors in cargo ships. This article offers some relatively modest suggestions for how rural development advocacy groups might actually better serve rural people.
The Role of Counties in Local Economic Development
Authors: Reese Laura A.
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on the role of county governments in local economic development. It examines whether counties are fulfilling their potential as regional coordinating bodies in economic development and explicitly tests the hypothesis that counties are more likely to engage in demand-side economic development incentives because of this role. Using the International City/County Management Association Economic Development data set, the author compared economic development practices in cities and counties. The findings are somewhat mixed but indicate that counties are, at least to some extent, fulfilling a coordinating role and are more likely to practice certain types of demand-side incentives than cities.
A Market-Based Approach to Development Finance: Case Study of the Capital Access Program
Authors: Laughlin James D. , Digirolamo Vincent A.
Published: March 2007

Due to regulation and other constraints, major suppliers of commercial credit are limited in the risk/return trade-offs that they are willing to assume, leaving specific gaps in credit markets undersupplied or not supplied at all. These gaps primarily affect small and medium-sized firms that lack the collateral or earnings track record required by banks, or the profit or acquisition potential required by venture capitalists. This article examines the effectiveness of the Capital Access Program (CAP) in helping commercial banks expand their lending parameters and narrow capital gaps. CAP provides banks with a partial loan loss reserve to enable them to absorb higher risks associated with many business loans. CAP increases the risk tolerance of commercial banks without displacing private financing or involving excessive bureaucracy. Recognizing its effectiveness, several state and local governments have since adopted the program. Committing a combined total of $7 million in public funds, CAP programs have leveraged $150 million in private commercial loans, primarily to small and medium-sized firms.
Potential for Redevelopment of Contaminated Brownfield Sites
Authors: Page G. William , Rabinowitz Harvey Z.
Published: March 2007

The focus of this article is on the ways contamination from past industrial practices and present environmental policies affects redevelopment of brownfield sites. First, the factors that have produced the large number of contaminated sites and the environmental legislation enacted to control pollution and to remediate existing contamination are examined. The second part of the article discusses several examples that illustrate some problems, costs, and outcomes of redevelopment efforts that cope with contamination problems. The authors argue that environmental policies must consider the value of such sites for private sector use and redevelopment activities, as well as providing incentives for such redevelopment where appropriate. A model is proposed that uses return on investment and the risk of contamination for discriminating among redevelopment projects in allocating scarce remediation funds.
Highways and Business Location Decisions
Authors: Forkenbrock David J. , Foster Norman S. J.
Published: March 2007

Local government leaders quite often contend that upgraded highways are important to their communities' economic development potential. This article examines the degree to which investments in high-capacity highways are likely to influence business location decisions, given the mature nature of the interurban highway system in the United States. The authors examine the conceptual relationship between highway investments and facility location, review literature on location factors, and present the findings of surveys of business facility managers in Missouri and Iowa. They conclude that access to a highway generally has become less of a factor in location decisions and discuss the implications of this conclusion for state-level highway investment policy.
Governors, Economic Theory, and Development Policy
Authors: Boeckelman Keith
Published: March 2007

This article examines governors' views on state economic development policy based on a distinction between two basic categories—supply-side and demand-side approaches. The former emphasizes business incentives, whereas the latter focuses on "homegrown" development through government-business cooperation. The findings, based on data collected from governors' offices in 41 states, reveal support for both approaches, but suggest that supply-side policies remain the more popular of the two. They also show that Republican governors tend to favor the supply-side approach, whereas Democrats emphasize demand-side policies.
Targeting Job Opportunities: Developing Measures of Local Employment
Authors: Theodore Nikolas , Carlson Virginia L.
Published: March 2007

Community organizations involved in job training and placement activities have relied on highly aggregated labor-market information to guide programmatic direction. Although such information can serve as a starting point for evaluating employment opportunities, it has not been useful to organizations seeking to target opportunities in particular locations, industries, and occupations. Frustration over the ineffectiveness of these tools has led organizations to use new techniques for identifying employment opportunities. This article reports on ongoing efforts to use economic development techniques to assist job training and placement providers in better understanding local labor-market conditions. Techniques for conducting labor-market analysis for small areas using occupation-and industry-specific information from readily available sources are presented and evaluated. Three case studies provide examples using the techniques described.
Principles for Rethinking the Federal Government's Role in Economic Development
Authors: Hill Edward W.
Published: March 2007

This article begins with a discussion of differences between economic and community development. A three-dimensional policy frame work for analyzing subnational economic development policy is presented One dimension consists of the goals of efficiency and equity. The confusion between the equity objectives of poverty alleviation and helping distressed communities is explained The second dimension includes three sets of government and market failures that are rationales for federal intervention-provision of public goods, the mismatch in political and economic federalisms, and the mismatch between political and economic time horizons. The third dimension is the funding mechanisms for development programs-people, places, and people through places. The last section contains recommendations for restructuring federal policy.
“Every Breath You Take... ”: The Demographics of Toxic Air Releases in Southern California
Authors: Sadd James L. , Pastor Manuel , Boer J. Thomas , Snyder Lori D.
Published: March 2007

In this article, the authors investigate the relationship between ethnicity and potential environmental hazards in the metropolitan Los Angeles area. Using a variety of techniques, including geographic information systems (GIS) mapping, univariate comparisons, and logit, ordered logit, and tobit regression analysis, the authors find that, even controlling for other factors such as income and the extent of manufacturing employment and land use, minority residents tend to be disproportionately located in neighborhoods surrounding toxic air emissions. The results generally support the propositions of the proponents of “environmental justice”; in the conclusion, they consider what this might mean for urban land use and environmental policy.
Linking the Global and the Local: The Future of Regions, Cities, and Neighborhoods
Authors: Ferman Barbara
Published: March 2007

This review essay explores economic development initiatives and practices from the regional, city, and neighborhood level. Taken together, the three books discussed here provide a holistic account of urban realities and, in particular, of urban economic development. These books deepen our understanding of how structural, political, organizational, and individual factors and decisions interact to shape economic development initiatives and outcomes. In so doing, these books provide a refreshing antidote to the more typical scenario of urban dualities—for example, agency versus structure, global versus local, public versus private—that constrains much of the literature on urban economic development.
Policy Research in an Imperfect World: Response to Terry F. Buss, “The Case Against Targeted Industry Strategies”
Authors: Wiewel Wim
Published: March 2007

It is a sign of the coming of age of economic development research that tough questions are being asked about the quality of the data, how solid the conclusions from research are, and when we are better off with limited data and knowledge than without them. Buss makes a valuable contribution in raising these issues. He goes too far in damning all studies because individual errors appear in some of them and is wrong in calling the studies atheoretical. His ideological bias causes him to attack any tinkering with the free market; on that basis, all economic development efforts are inappropriate. However, more external review of targeting studies and more evaluation of targeting programs would greatly improve the quality of data, studies, and economic development policy and practice.
CONCEPTUALIZING AND MEASURING GENDER IDEOLOGY AS AN IDENTITY
Authors: KROSKA AMY
Published: March 2007

Although gender idology is sometimes conceptualized as an identity, researchers invariably measure it with attitude scales. The author introduces a self-administered, vignette-style instrument that measures gender ideology as an identity. Using a sample of 309 married or cohabiting respondents, she demonstrates the instrument's construct validity by showing it is strongly related to measures of the evaluation and the potency of three cultural categories: a feminist, a traditionalist about women's roles, and a househusband. The author discusses the benefits of using such an instrument as an alternative to attitude scales in housework studies. She also discusses how this measurement approach can be useful for measuring variation in the meaning of a marital identity and for operationalizing gender in “doing gender” investigations.
TO VEIL OR NOT TO VEIL?
Authors: READ JEN'NAN GHAZAL , BARTKOWSKI JOHN P.
Published: March 2007

The increasingly pervasive practice of veiling among Muslim women has stimulated a great deal of scholarly investigation and debate. This study brings empirical evidence to bear on current debates about the meaning of the veil in Islam. This article first examines the conflicting meanings of the veil among Muslim religious elites and Islamic feminists. Although the dominant gender discourse among Muslim elites strongly favors this cultural practice, an antiveiling discourse promulgated by Islamic feminists has gained ground within recent years. This study then examines how these discursive disputes affect gender identity negotiation among veiled and unveiled Muslim women living in Austin, Texas. Interviews with these women highlight how their gender identities reproduce and reformulate existing Muslim gender discourses. Special attention is paid to the subjective disparities and points of congruence between both groups of respondents. This study concludes by suggesting avenues for future research on the intersection of gender, religion, and cultural difference.
DEGENDERING THE PROBLEM AND GENDERING THE BLAME
Authors: BERNS NANCY
Published: March 2007

This article describes political discourse on domestic violence that obscures men's violence while placing the burden of responsibility on women. This perspective, which the author calls patriarchal resistance, challenges a feminist construction of the problem. Using a qualitative analysis of men's and political magazines, the author describes two main discursive strategies used in the resistance discourse: degendering the problem and gendering the blame. These strategies play a central role in resisting any attempts to situate social problems within a partiarchal framework. It is argued that this is a political countermovement to the feminist constructions of domestic violence as opposed to a serious concern about women's violence and male victims. Three major implications this resistance discourse has are the normalization of intimate violence, the diversion of attention from men's responsibility and cultural and structural factors that foster violence, and the distortion of women's violence.
THE POWER OF NUMBERS IN INFLUENCING HIRING DECISIONS
Authors: YODER JANICE D. , CRUMPTON PENNY L. , ZIPP JOHN F.
Published: March 2007

This article explores the influence that the proportion of women in a department has on hiring decisions in the field of psychology. A sample of advertisers from the APA Monitor was asked to identify the gender of the candidate hired. Hiring patterns were the same for men and women hirers in nonacademic organizations, as each favored male candidates. In academic hiring, women candidates were favored in departments with moderate female representation. This finding counters claims that women are hired by departments with few women in response to affirmative action. Rather, the presence of moderate numbers of women influences hiring decisions that promote women's opportunities.
POWER, PATRIARCHY, AND GENDER CONFLICT IN THE VIETNAMESE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY
Authors: KIBRIA NAZLI
Published: March 2007

Based on an ethnographic study of women's social groups and networks in a community of Vietnamese immigrants recently settled in the United States, this article explores the effects of migration on gender roles and power. The women's groups and networks play an important role in the exchange of social and economic resources among households and in the mediation of disputes between men and women in the family. These community forms are an important source of informal power for women, enabling them to cope effectively with male authority in the family. Yet, despite their increased power and economic resources, these women supported a patriarchal social structure because it preserved their parental authority and promised greater economic security in the future.