Same Baby,Fresh Bathwater: Restructuring the PSA Meetings

The changes to the way that the program is built for the PSA annual meetings offered some exciting new possibilities and successes, but there were also problems. This paper suggests a hybrid between the new and old systems in order to allow continued involvement by committees and other PSA members in shaping the program. Suggestions are also given for ensuring quality of papers, increasing attendance, and providing increased opportunities for interaction and networking.     

Challenges in Governance for the PSA as a Regional Sociological Association

In this essay we identify and discuss some of the challenges currently faced by the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) related to its governance. The PSA is not unlike other regional associations and faces similar challenges. The rapid growth in membership for the association has repeatedly placed strains on the governance structure, particularly on the office of the Executive Director. The formal organization of governance has not always matched the actual ways in which governing is carried out, almost entirely by volunteers. Although there is growth, there is also significant turnover in members from year to year and this presents a challenge for maintaining an active, vibrant organization. The governing structure of elected committees and officers has not changed with membership growth but the number of standing committees has increased dramatically, spreading the volunteer membership thin. To meet these challenges, we make several suggestions. We argue for the importance of maintaining a stable membership; that the PSA should continue its work to formally define roles and positions including a restructuring of its committees; and an emphasis should be placed on providing an intellectual home for the members of the PSA. We elaborate on these responses to the challenges faced by the PSA and suggest considerations for the association as it moves into the final decade of its first 100 years.     

“Can/Should/Does One Size Fit All? Does the Pacific Sociological Association Still Meet the Needs of Faculty Members at PhD-Granting Institutions?”

This article addresses the concern expressed by many within the Pacific Sociological Association in recent years that their regional organization is increasingly seen by Research I University sociologists as no longer meeting their professional needs, thus leading to (a) decreasing rates of membership and participation within, (b) a decline in the amount of high quality professional work associated with, and (c) a diminishment of the professional status of, the PSA. Using data gained from a membership survey of sociologists at the 29 Research I Universities in the Western Region of the United States and Canada, the empirical basis of these claims is examined, and their possible implications explored. The results of this investigation suggest that although PSA membership among faculty members at PhD-granting institutions may have declined somewhat over time, this has occurred for a number of very comprehendible reasons, some associated with but others external to the Pacific Sociological Association as a professional organization. In light of these findings, it is the main recommendation of this paper that the PSA should continue to approach this issue in a careful and reasoned manner, doing what it reasonably can to try to meet the professional needs of Research I University sociologists in the 21st century, but being mindful not to jeopardize what has made the PSA important and attractive to its growing number of other constituencies in recent years.     

Membership Benefits Matter

Professional associations have provided various benefits to their members to bolster member retention and recruitment. This study explored factors that could influence members’ behavioral intentions in professional membership associations by surveying 13,229 members from eighteen associations. More specifically, this analysis focused on the effects of members’ perceptions of the personal and professional benefits offered by associations with which they are affiliated and their satisfaction with those benefits. Our results suggested that members’ perceptions of personal and professional benefits positively correlated with their intentions to renew and recommend membership. If a member perceived a higher level of benefits, he or she would demonstrate a greater likelihood of satisfaction with the benefits and therefore be more likely to renew membership or recommend it to others. This study could advance understanding of the factors that influence members’ behavioral intentions while also providing professional associations with strategies for retaining existing members.     

Passing on gang culture in the theatre of the streets: ‘They’ll grow out of it,then our age will grow into it and then we’ll grow out of it’

ABSTRACT

Gang members and membership are oft displayed as fixed and stable entities that are only understood in the context of the gang. This paper purports that membership is a role learned through the process of street socialisation and that gangs should be understood as fluid entities situated within the larger context of street culture. Through member’s perspectives, it reveals the main cultural transmitters which facilitated membership in Glasgow, Scotland as street socialisation, territorial othering and storytelling. In discussing the role of these transmitters, the journey into gang membership in Glasgow is told. Exploring the transmitters of membership allowed the meaning making process that members engaged in to emerge which allows gang membership to be understood as a meaningful social activity.     

Elite Dilution or Saved by the Belles? The Changing Social Demography of the Pacific Sociological Association

This article examines four overlapping structural changes in the Pacific Sociological Association’s membership since the 1970s: (1) a burgeoning student participation, (2) the seeming withdrawal of faculty from research-based universities, (3) the feminization of the PSA’s leadership, and (4) the fading proportion of men at all levels of the organization. Instead of signaling a weakened professional association, however, these changes point to an energized PSA that leads other American regional sociological associations on indicators valued by sociologists. Three principal data sources inform this analysis: PSA administrative records; content analysis of the PSA meeting programs in 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2013; and the 2013 PSA conference registration data. I use my experiences at University of Oregon to illustrate some themes.     

The influence of organizational social responsibility on involvement behavior in community sport membership associations

Membership‐based associations are critical to their local communities and the overall social impact of the nonprofit sector. This study examines how organizational social responsibility within nonprofit membership associations influences positive member involvement behaviors, including volunteering, speaking positively about the club, and member loyalty. Self‐administered online questionnaires were completed by 735 members within seven grassroots membership associations in Ontario, Canada offering community‐based sport programs. Results show that members are somewhat aware of and felt positively about their organization's socially responsible efforts. Awareness of these efforts had a positive direct effect on the involvement behaviors of members, including intention to stay involved with their club and speaking positively about their club to others (i.e., word of mouth). Members' level of social consciousness was found to have a positive direct effect on word of mouth. Furthermore, members' positive evaluation of sport clubs' socially responsible initiatives was found to partially mediate the positive relationship between social consciousness and involvement behavior, as well as partially mediate the positive relationship between awareness of those efforts and involvement behavior. Results of this research provide grassroots membership associations with an in‐depth understanding of how their organization's efforts toward social responsibility influence member perceptions and behaviors, which may help them focus their efforts and more effectively manage their social change agenda moving forward.     

EU Accession and Income Growth: An Empirical Approach

The dynamic effects from EU membership are crucial for the new member states to catch up with the average income level in the old member states. To gauge the dynamic effects we follow a two-step procedure in which a gravity equation for bilateral trade shows the trade effect of EU membership and a growth regression yields the income effect of trade. Shared EU membership is found to increase trade between two of its member states with about 27%. EU membership may contribute to trade by inducing countries to improve the quality of their institutions. Trade increases by another 23% if institutions improve, yielding a total trade increase of 50%. Improved openness increases income by 38% according to our estimates. Adding a small direct effect of improved institutions on income, the total income effect of EU membership is 40% for the 12 new members and Turkey. This implies that EU membership, or its effect on trade and institutions, could lead to large economic gains for the new member states, but does not bring them economically on par with the old member states.

Smoking and Membership in a Fraternity or Sorority: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objective: Fraternity and sorority members have higher rates of smoking than other college students. This systematic review examines studies that included fraternity/sorority membership in their investigation of smoking behaviors. Participants/Methods: Studies identified in MEDLINE, PsychInfo, JSTOR, CINAHL, ERIC, and Google Scholar published between 2003 and 2013 were included if they included fraternity and/or sorority membership, were written in English, published in a peer-reviewed journal, and had smoking as an outcome variable. Nineteen studies were identified for the review. Results: Fraternity/sorority members were more likely to be nondaily smokers. Members who lived in the fraternity/sorority house had higher rates of smoking than members who lived elsewhere. Fraternity/sorority member smoking was associated with alcohol and other substance use. The influence of no-smoking policies on fraternity/sorority member smoking was also examined. Conclusions: Fraternity/sorority membership was associated with higher rates of smoking, but this association was influenced by other substance use and environmental factors.     

Financial and political resources of nine major public sector unions in the 1980s

Current research offers two potentially competing perspectives on union strength: membership and financial/political resources. We update and broaden the research on the financial and political resources of nine major public sector unions in the U.S. by reporting these unions’ financial assets, net worth, revenues, and political action committee (PAC) receipts during the 1980s and the early 1990s. We find that unions may expand their financial and political resources even though membership levels stagnate or decline. Overall, the unions have amassed larger asset bases, even though some have actually lost members. On a per member basis, federal executive branch unions do not appear as financially weak as the level of their financial resources suggests. Postal unions as a group are clearly the strongest in terms of per member financial and political resources. Federal executive branch unions have experienced a striking reduction in their PAC activity, while the postal and the state and local union PACs have grown substantially. Our analysis indicates that union membership may not adequately measure union strength.     

How PSA’s Inclusion Shift Cracked the Ivory Tower Culture and Led to New Governance Challenges

PSA’s shift to inclusion began in the 1990s as a response to the declining membership and the domination of the association by scholars from the Ivory Tower universities--those institutions focusing primarily upon research. Cracking the Ivory Tower refers to this inclusion which involved encouraging student participation; inviting faculty from teaching-focused colleges; expanding program topics on teaching or issues of gender, race, sexual orientation; hosting inclusive receptions; and electing some officers from non-elite schools. As inclusion has dramatically increased membership and promoted more representative participation, governance now faces new challenges, especially the executive director's workload.     

State and Regional Professional Associations—the Case of the CSA and the PSA

The CSA and the PSA share several critical challenges including maintaining a stable membership, providing opportunities for students to present their work while at the same time maintaining their position as an organization of professional sociologists, meeting the needs of a diverse membership and balancing the teaching and research needs of this diverse membership. The need is for the CSA and the PSA to work together to form an even closer partnership.     

BUDGET COMMITTEE AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFER: EVIDENCE FROM SOUTH KOREA

This paper revisits the claim that members of legislative committees direct more earmark spending to their constituents. In South Korea's legislature, a national law regulating the budget committee provides an unusual source of exogenous variation in membership: members of the committee are rotated each year owing to 1-year term limits. Using data from 226 local governments, and both within-district and within-member variations in membership, we find that districts represented by a budget committee member secure roughly 3% more subsidies than those represented by a nonmember. (JEL D72, D78, H70)     

The Relationship between Provision of Membership Benefits and Fulfillment of Representational Roles in Nonprofit Advocacy Membership Organizations

This article explores the ways nonprofit advocacy membership organizations can manage their resource dependence on members and fulfill the organizations' representational roles, focusing on the provision of membership benefits. Membership organizations rely on financial or other resources from members and thus are constrained by them. For a nonprofit that aims to primarily speak for members, constraints by members may help to focus organizational attention on members' interests. Contrarily, for a nonprofit that aims to mainly represent broader constituents, members' constraints may hamper an organization's ability to advocate for broader constituents because members do not necessarily share the same policy goals with broader constituents. The provision of membership benefits can be a useful strategy for organizations to fulfill their representational roles and to satisfy and engage members, because people often join an organization to enjoy certain membership benefits. For an empirical analysis, this study collected a large‐scale data set through web and mail surveys of nonprofit advocacy organizations across the United States. The mixed‐mode surveys achieved a 57.5 percent response rate (729 responses). The survey and regression analysis results show that member‐serving nonprofits providing members with opportunities to participate in advocacy work are more likely to represent members' interests directly. Although broader constituency‐serving nonprofits tend to prioritize members' opinions, these organizations are more likely to adhere to the mandates of broader constituents when providing selective material membership benefits. However, when providing purposive membership benefits, these nonprofits are more likely to represent members' opinions.     

Subcultural Identity Work in Social Movements: Barriers to Collective Identity Changes and Overcoming Them

Over time, social movements must contend with a vast array of forces that can lead to changes in the movement's collective identity. As such changes may impact the alignment of movements and their membership, this study explores how changes are perceived by members and how they are interactively addressed. Drawing on ethnographic data gathered from two Native American social movement organizations, this study specifically asks why some changes suggested by movement members might be pursued and others are not. While movement members felt that there were a number of barriers to changes in their movements, the study revealed that it was the resonance of collective memories – presented during interactions as narrative commemorations – that encouraged the pursuit of suggested changes or the maintenance of a status quo.     

Voting in an Officer Election: Testing a model in a multi-site local

We test a model based on social exchange theory to explain the patterns of membership voting in a local union officer election. Survey data from members and stewards aggregated by 55 voting units, when combined with the control variable, explained 46 percent of the variance in the incumbent president's re-election. A greater percentage of member votes for the incumbent president were related to higher union loyalty, higher confidence in the grievance procedure, better union-management relations, and more positive perceptions of the union contract, findings that support our model of membership voting.     

Union membership,economic rents,and migration behavior

This study represents an extension of the human capital paradigm as it relates to an individual’s decision to migrate. It differs from previous studies by incorporating union membership, a labor market variable, into the model. In effect, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 granted a monopoly bargaining position to unions. The theoretical implication of a union’s monopoly bargaining position is that union wage levels will increase relative to nonunion wages. The increase of relative wages results in union membership granting a property right that possesses positive net present value and hence reduces an employed union member’s probability of migrating. Additionally, the supra-competitive remuneration of union members results in a surplus of labor supplied to union firms. Employers respond by using quality screening to hire workers from the larger labor pool. As a result, unemployed union members will on average possess higher levels of human capital, which will increase their probability of migrating above that of their unemployed nonunion cohorts.     

Leader‐member exchanges and board performance of voluntary sport organizations

Using leader‐member exchange theory developed by Dansereau, Graen, and Haga (1975), this chapter analyzes the dyadic relationship between leaders (board chairs and paid executives) and members (volunteer board members) within the boards of Australian voluntary sport organizations. The chapter specifically examines the quality of leader‐member exchanges that exist within a sample of thirty‐four Queensland State Sporting Organizations and their relationship with board performance. It was found that board chairs and executives perceived the quality of their leader‐member exchanges to be higher than their respective relationships with board members, and that higher‐quality leader‐member exchanges among all three possible pairings of executives, board chairs, and board members were positively related to higher levels of board performance. The chapter discusses implications and directions for further research into leader‐member exchanges within voluntary sports organizations.     

Note on Commitment and Community among Volunteer Firefighters

Three hundred seventy-two volunteer firefighters from fifteen all-volunteer departments in a five county area in central Virginia were administered a questionnaire which examined commitment and other attitudinal and demographic variables. The correlation coefficient between number of years a volunteer firefighter and age was. 77. Seventy-five percent (273) of firefighters had seldom or never considered quitting their role. Seventy-five percent indicated that over half of their close friends were fellow volunteer firefighters. Sixty-seven percent responded that being a member of the fire department was of equal or greater importance than church membership. Theoretically it is plausible that the primary group rewards experienced by firefighters as members of communal organizations accounted for the high level of commitment. An empirical example of Smith's (1981) concept of pure volunteers is provided.