1. Press, Radio, Films: International Communications

This selective survey endeavors to summarize leading eventsand situations in the various fields of communication that particularlyconcern problems of opinion formation and control. The periodcovered extends from September through December 1939. So faras possible, the survey seeks to bring together in a conciseand convenient form not only factual data having public opinionimplications but also summaries of current ideas and hypothesesregarding communicational activities, news of current research,and suggestions for desirable research projects.     

Migration,Time, and Religioethnic Identification Among U.S. Jews1

This article examines changes between 1985–1990 and 1995–2000 in relationships between migration and religioethnic identification among U.S. Jews. The results of multivariate analyses of the 1990 and 2000 National Jewish Population Surveys show that Jewish background characteristics have lost their significance as determinants of internal migration and, especially, migration across state boundaries. Concurrently, migration no longer constitutes a serious threat to group continuity and erstwhile negative effects on major religious and social behaviors have disappeared. When the two surveys were integrated into one data set, it was found that “time” enhances the inclination of Jews to move and strengthens their religious and ethnic commitments (though not their commitments to informal Jewish networks). The results are discussed in reference to three competing perspectives of migration‐identification relationships—“selectivity,”“disruption,” and “heightening”—and in the wider theoretical context of religious and ethnic processes in the contemporary United States.     

Interest Organizations,Information, and Policy Innovation in the U.S. Congress1 2

Interest organizations are hypothesized to strongly affect public policy, but the evidence that they do so is mixed. This article argues that one reason for the disparity is a gap between theory and research: theory suggests that information provided by interest organizations should strongly influence elected officials, but there is no systematic research on its impact. We examine a potentially important source of information for members of the U.S. Congress—testimony at committee hearings—to ascertain if it affects the enactment of policy proposals. The data, based on content analysis of almost 1,000 testimonies on a stratified random sample of policy proposals, describe who testifies, their arguments, and the evidence they provide. Supporters of a proposal emphasize the importance of the problem being addressed, while opponents claim the proposed policy will be ineffective and try to reframe the debate. Information—particularly information regarding policy effectiveness—does affect the likelihood that a policy proposal will be enacted.     

Teenagers in the U.S. Labor Force: Local Labor Markets,Race, and Family1

Abstract Drawing on theories of family organization and labor-market structures, it is argued that teenagers represent a useful target population for research on the effects of race, household characteristics, and local labor markets on labor-force participation. Toward this end, predictive models of labor-force participation are applied to a sample of all white and black 16- to 18-year-olds living at home in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan labor-market areas in the United States. Beyond the higher labor-force participation of white youths, both local labor-market characteristics and family resources affect teenage labor-force participation. Participation of white youths was more closely linked to family resources and local economic conditions than that of black youths. Queuing theories of labor-force participation are used to interpret these findings.     

Managing healthcare costs, Part 1: The dilemma of AIDS.

The costs of AIDS care can be reduced through individual case management, but first employers, insurers, and society in general must learn to deal with the disease and its victims rationally and compassionately.     

Muddiman E., Power S., Taylor C. Civil Society and the Family. Policy Press,Bristol, 2020, pp. 203, References,Index, £60.00. ISBN 978-1-4473-5552-6

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

Remembrance Remembered,Remembrance Observed. An Irishman's Daughter Visits His Grave1

In this essay, prompted by Williamson's “At The Menin Gate” (Journal of Historical Sociology. Vol. 9, No. 1, March 1996), the notion of historical anonymity is explored in the context of a brief ethnography of the changing form, content andz meaning of War Remembrance, and its relationship to wider forms of remembrance of the dead. Ypres is a lovely town and the Menin Gate is a decent memorial. Gordon has a good spot there. They play the last post every night and stop the traffic. There is something comforting to see parties of school children visiting the place. The names of those on the wall will not be forgotten, though they are now almost beyond living memory. (At the Menin Gate. Williamson B. Journal of Historical Sociology. Vol.9. No.1. March 1996). St. Martin was a demolished village about a mile behind the battle-line. As we entered it I noticed an English soldier lying by the road with a horribly smashed head; soon such sights would be too frequent to attract attention … But … in 1917 I was only beginning to learn that life, for the majority of the population, is an unlovely struggle against unfair odds, culminating in a cheap funeral. (Sassoon S. Memoirs of an Infantry Officer. Faber & Faber. London. 1965. 1st Published. 1930. p147).     

Explaining Pro‐Immigrant Sentiment in the U.S.: Social Class,Cosmopolitanism, and Perceptions of Immigrants1

In the U.S., research on attitudes toward immigrants generally focuses on anti‐immigrant sentiment. Yet, the 1996 General Social Survey indicates that half the population believes that immigrants favorably impact the U.S. economy and culture. Using these data, we analyze theories of both pro‐ and anti‐immigrant sentiment. While we find some support for two theories of intergroup competition, our most important finding connects a cosmopolitan worldview with favorable perceptions of immigrants. We find that cosmopolitans – people who are highly educated, in white‐collar occupations, who have lived abroad, and who reject ethnocentrism – are significantly more pro‐immigrant than people without these characteristics.