Non-profit-funding environment relations: theory and application

The relationships between funding heterogeneity and organisational structure and functioning were examined for a panel of non-profit organisations. Resource dependence and institutional theory were used to derive hypotheses predicting positive associations between funding heterogeneity and non-profit boundary spanning, modelling and participation in collective efforts. For non-profits which were less vulnerable to institutional aspects of their environments, funding heterogeneity was found to have a positive effect on boundary spanning, consistent with resource dependence theory. For non-profits which were more vulnerable to institutional factors, on the other hand, funding heterogeneity was found to have positive effects on modelling and participation in collective efforts; consistent with institutional theory. These results argue that resource dependence and institutional theory need to be combined for the analysis of organisation-environment relations and suggest how this could be accomplished.The research described in this article was sponsored by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Program on Nonprofit Organizations at Yale University, and the University of Minnesota. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1990 Meetings of the American Sociological Association, August 11–15, Washington, D.C.     

What Sociologists Do and Where They Do It—The NSF Survey on Sociologists's Work Activities and Workplaces

We present data from the National Science Foundation Survey of Doctoral Recipients that challenges the image of sociology as a classroom-based group of professionals. Our data reveal that only 45.8% of Ph.D. sociologists teach sociology. The anachronistic and false image of sociology, we argue, is profoundly consequential to the way sociologists interact with each other and with the larger society. As a discipline we tend to ignore or dismiss the doing of sociology in favor of the teaching of sociology or of theoretically focused research. We also present data on principal tasks and job classifications for those in academic and nonacademic settings.     

Unmet service needs of families of young children with chronic illnesses and disabilities

Data about health and educational services were collected from 187 families with young children (under two years) who have chronic illnesses and disabilities. The purpose was to assess parents' satisfaction with services their families received and to identify families' unmet service needs as well as the reasons for these unmet needs. Although families' ratings of the adequacy of services are relatively high, 28% of the families report unmet service needs. The unmet needs most often reported are occupational, physical, or speech therapy; respite care/child care; and special education. Lack of funding is the most commonly given reason for unmet needs. Children with multiple impairments are at highest risk for unmet needs. Only 22% of unmet needs reported at the initial interview have been met by the time of the six-month follow-up. Increased coordination and monitoring of services across service sectors are indicated. Her research interests include the effects of disability on family identity and families' responses to minority stress. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. She gratefully acknowledges Shelley Blazis and Nadav Casuto for statistical consulting. Her research interests focus on the impact of chronic illness and disability on families. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include families and health and chronic illness and disability in children. She received her Ph.D. in Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. His areas of interest include neurodevelopmental outcomes of low birth weight infants and training in developmental pediatrics. He was graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School. His areas of interest include adolescents with chronic illness and disabilities, adolescent sexual decision making, and international adolescent health care issues. He was graduated from Howard University College of Medicine was awarded his earned doctorate in Health Policy from the University of Minnesota. Preparation of this article was supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Grant #H133890012.     

The components of family policy education

The study of family policy in the United States began relatively recently. The academic community increasingly has shown interest in this new policy arena. Much of the conceptual writing on family policy emerged from disciplines such as family studies, social work, political science, economics, and sociology. These academic units have recently modified their course curricula to include more family policy content. These family policy education efforts are discussed in this article. Specific suggestions are made concerning the development and content of family policy education, broader educational training for those who want to pursue a career in family policy, and future goals and directions for family policy education. She received her Ph. D. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests are in the family and health policy arenas, with particular focus on ethnically diverse populations. Her most recent research is on homeless children and mothers. She received her Ph.D. in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota. Her teaching and research interests are workplace and family issues and family policy and impact analysis.     

Home care reimbursement for technology-dependent children: Its impact on parental distress

The distress of 52 parents with a technology-dependent child at home is measured using a standardized psychological inventory. Fifty-eight percent of these parents report enough symptoms to classify them as needing psychiatric intervention. Cost savings to third-party payers are accelerating the trend toward home care (rather than institutionalized care). Yet, these findings point to an underestimated cost to families in terms of parents' psychological well-being. One factor associated with less distress for mothers is having services reimbursed through the Medicaid Model Waiver Program, which provides a comprehensive plan for home care services. In contrast, services reimbursed by private third-party payers are more variable, placing greater financial strain and uncertainty on parents, which is associated with greater psychological distress. These results suggest the need for further study of the long-term impact on parents caring for technology-dependent children at home.Reprint requests to Barbara J. Leonard, R.N., Ph.D., Maternal and Child Health Major, Division of Human Development and Nutrition, School of Public Health, Box 197 UMHC, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, (612) 625-3660.This study was supported in part by BRSG Number 2-S07-RR05448-25 awarded to the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health by the Biomedical Research Grant Program, Division of Research and Resources, National Institute of Health. Additional support was provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, State of Minnesota, Academic Computing Services and Systems, University of Minnesota and special project funds from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.Barbara J. Leonard is an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Maternal and Child Health Major, Division of Human Development and Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, MN 55455. Her research interests include children with developmental disabilities, their parents, and siblings. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.Janny Dwyer Brust is a Research Fellow in the Maternal and Child Health Major at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include issues related to the care of chronically ill children and sexually abused children. She received her M.P.H. from the University of Minnesota.Joan Patterson is an Assistant Professor in the Maternal and Child Health Major and Associate Director of the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include family adaptation to chronic illness and family stress and coping. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.     

Development and Validation of the Social Worker’s Attitudes Toward Disability Scale

Interdisciplinary doctoral education is being strongly encouraged by government agencies (e.g., the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health) and universities. This position is predicated on the idea that integrating the perspectives of different disciplines is necessary for developing meaningful answers to complicated social problems. The purpose of this brief teaching note is to describe the development of a new interdisciplinary PhD program at Tulane University. The program is called City, Community & Culture, and it confers degrees in social work, sociology, and urban studies.     

The determinants of worry over chronic health condition for rural couples

This study investigates the determinants of chronic health conditions that worry the member of rural couples who serves as the household financial manager. A sample of 1,115 rural couples from the NC-182 regional research project Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well-Being of Rural Families is used. The logit analysis finds that the probability of having a condition that worries the financial manager increases if she or he is middle aged or older, is not employed, and has external Locus of Control. This probability also increases when the dissatisfaction with the resources available to handle a financial emergency increases and the more often the financial manager does not have money to pay for the doctor.Preparation of this research was supported in part by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station project 52–056 and the Minnesota Extension Service. Data were collected in conjunction with the cooperative regional research project NC-182, Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well-Being of Rural Families. Cooperating states are Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota.Her current research interests include the economic well-being of various family forms. She received her Ph.D. from University of Illinois.Her current research interests include family financial management and consumer bankruptcy. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.Her current research interests include issues concerned with family stress management including financial stress. She received her Ph.D. at Michigan State University.Her current research interests include economic and environmental well-being for families and individuals with emphasis on the impact of environmental regulations on economic well-being. She received her Ph.D. from University of Illinois.His current interests include economic well-being of rural families. He was a research assistant for Dr. Bauer before receiving his Ph.D. degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN.     

The factors affecting a family's plan to change its financial situation

This study investigates the factors involved in changing a family's financial situation for 485 Midwestern households. High income families and those with high home equity levels have a smaller gap between their standards and levels of consumption. High income families are more satisfied with their financial situations than low income families. Those families with a large gap between their standards and levels of consumption are more dissatisfied with their financial situations. Older heads of households have higher satisfaction with their financial situations and are less likely to plan to change them. Large families are less satisfied with their financial situations than small families and are more likely to plan to change them.Sharon M. Danes is Assistant Professor and Family Resource Management Extension Specialist, Family Social Science Department, University of Minnesota, 275F McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108. Dr. Danes received her Ph.D. from Iowa State University and her current research interests include family management and family financial management.Earl W. Morris is Associate Professor, Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel, University of Minnesota, 368B McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108. Dr. Morris received his Ph.D. from Cornell University. His current research interests include rural housing.     

School-based parental involvement as a predictor of achievement and school learning environment: An elementary school-level analysis

Recent federal and state policies promote school-level parent involvement (PI) (e.g., volunteering), although evidence linking it to both student-level academic performance and school-level outcomes is thin. Using social capital theory and drawing upon a longitudinal sample of public schools (n = 914) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), we examine the relationship of school-level student achievement and the school learning environment to three forms of school-level PI: involvement directed toward school improvement (public-good PI); involvement directed toward parents' own children's schooling (private-good PI); and the formation of social networks among parents (networking). Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that schools characterized by high aggregate levels of parents' public-good PI (participation in PTA/PTO, volunteering, and fundraising) and networking were more likely than other schools to have higher percentages of students at or above national/state standards in math and reading achievement and more likely to show more positive learning environments. School-level socio-economic status (SES) moderated these effects such that aggregate private-good PI and networking related to more positive learning environments and higher school achievement in low-SES schools while aggregate public-good PI brought more benefit within high-SES schools.     

Undergraduate research experience as preparation for graduate school

Graduate students learn to be sociologists in part by doing research. Many undergraduate institutions whose roles have been primarily defined by teaching have inadequately addressed the need of their students to obtain research experience. When such opportunities are available, and when they are properly structured and coordinated with the undergraduate curriculum, advantages accrue to both students and the profession. This paper examines curricular and extracurricular ways to strengthen undergraduate research opportunities as preparation for graduate school. It is suggested that such preparation is also beneficial to many students who do not go on to graduate school. His primary research areas are methodology and urban sociology. He is currently working on models of urban housing markets and neighborhood change and is editing a book on those topics with Donald J. Bogue. This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (8852039).     

The role of perception in the intention to change the family financial situation

The study investigates factors associated with the individual intentions to change the family financial situation of 337 farm respondents. The hypotheses are that intentions to change are influenced by (a) resource flexibility or constraints existing at the time of the decision situation, including off-farm employment, education, age, and household size, and (b) perceptual factors of perceived income adequacy, locus of control, degree of discrepancy between standard and level of the family financial situation, and dissatisfaction or satisfaction with the discrepancy. Older respondents and those experiencing more external control are less likely to intend to change. Younger respondents and those who perceive their incomes as more adequate are more likely to perceive that they have control over their situation. The lower the perceived income adequacy, the greater the discrepancy between standard and level of the family financial situation and the lower the satisfaction with the discrepancy. Significant indirect effects were consistent with theoretical expectations.Research was supported by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Projects 52-055, 52-054, and 52-058 and the Minnesota Extension Service. The authors wish to thank Jean W. Bauer, Ph.D., for research collaboration and Susan Keskinen and Cathy Schultz for research assistance.Her research interests include social, economic, and technical decision processes, discrepancies between standards and levels, and the interrelationship of work and family roles, particularly for farm women. Her Ph.D. is from Iowa State University.Her research interests in family resource management theory include social decision making processes and social decision rules, family life quality, and the economic consequences of divorce. Her Ph.D. is from Michigan State University.     

Family policy and critical science research: Facilitating change

The principles of critical science for policy research are outlined and one research project is used as a case study. The study was intentionally designed to facilitate changes that would positively influence the economic well-being of children from divorced families. The project uses the critical science processes of public dialogue about child support guidelines for purposes of collaborative problem solving. The normative theories of procedural and distributive justice are used to guide the research reporting. The project contributes to changes in the practices of estimating the income needs of children, changes in estimating the relative monetary contributions of their parents, and proposed legislation and modifications in the state child support guidelines. She received her Ph.D. in family ecology from Michigan State University. Her research interests include the valuing issues of family life quality, family decision making, divorce,and the economic adjustments of families to economic stressors. She received her M.A. degree in Family Education from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include decision making and parenting. She received her Ph.D. degree in anthropology from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include social and cultural change and the integration of research findings into public policy decision making.     

Individual and relationship capital: Implications for theory and research on families

It is proposed that the concept of human capital should include both individual and relationship capital. A conceptual model illustrating the investment of human capital in individuals, marriages, and families is presented. Indicators of individual, marital, and familial capital are proposed. Implications of the concepts of individual, marital, and familial capital for theory and research on family processes are discussed. It is suggested that family economists should employ a broader range of measures of human capital and use the concept of relationship capital and that family scientists should use the concepts of individual and relationship capital in theory and research on families. Defining human capital in this manner creates new ways of applying the human capital concept to families.This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the 17th Annual South-eastern Regional Family Economics/Home Management Conference, held at the University of Georgia-Athens, February 4–6, 1988. The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions.His research interests include transmission of values in families, family routines, and family stress and coping. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.Her research interests include family resource management and the relationship between conflict among family members and perception of resources. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.     

Alternative Formulas for Distributing Parental Incomes at Divorce

The current study applied five formulas for distributing parental incomes at divorce to 414 court case records in Minnesota and evaluated which formulas and actual court orders provided sufficient incomes for male and female-headed households. The study further explored influences of pre-divorce gross income levels, household/genders, and lengths of marriage on the post-divorce income-to-needs ratios (ITN) produced by the five formulas and actual court orders, using MANOVA. Results were interpreted using distributive justice principles of equity, needs, and contributions. Males have higher ITN with each alternative, except the income-sharing formula. The actual court orders and the income-sharing formula produce the largest discrepancy between male and female ITN and the highest percentage of females living below poverty level guidelines.Kathrine C. Daniels, University of Minnesota, 290 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108-6140; e-mail: dani0022@umn.edu.Kathryn D. Rettig, University of Minnesota, 290 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55107-6140; e-mail: krettig@che.umn.edu.Robert delMas, General College of the University of Minnesota, 354 Appleby Hall, 28 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455; e-mail: delma001@umn.edu.This paper originated from Kathrine Daniels’ doctoral dissertation entitled, alternative strategies of dissolving the economic partnership of marriage. Further, the research was funded by a grant from The McKnight Foundation to the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and a subcontract to the University of Minnesota Department of Family Social Science. Additional support was provided through a grant from, The University of Minnesota Center for Urban and Regional Affairs’ Faculty Interactive Research Program, as well as a project grant from the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, Project 53–054, Decision-Making Integral to Relationship Transitions in Families, Kathryn D. Rettig, Principal Investigator.     

Family leave legislation in the American states: Toward a model of state policy adoption

The issue of mandated family leave has drawn substantial attention in recent years. This article develops and tests empirically a model of adoption of family leave policies in the American states during the late 1980s. State family leave policies are seen as a function of three sets of variables: (a) institutional-elite variables such as partisan control of state government and the proportion of women in the state legislatures; (b) constituency disposition variables such as mass partisanship, mass ideology, and the likelihood of general support for “women's” issues; and (c) contextual-demand variables such as birth rates and women's participation in the workforce. The model provides impressive fit to the data, accurately predicting the family leave policies of 92% of the state cases. The results suggest the importance of partisan control of state government, proportion of women in the state legislature, urbanization, and feminism as a state policy as factors that affect the probability that states will adopt mandated family leave policies. His research interests include American politics, public policy, and domestic political economy. He is editor of theAmerican Politics Quarterly, and is former President of the State Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. Her research interests include family policy and women's labor force participation. She received her Ph.D. in Family Science from the University of Georgia.     

Theorizing the institution: foundations,duality, and data

Although a central construct for sociologists, the concept of institution continues to elude clear and full specification. One reason for this lack of clarity is that about 50 years ago empirical researchers in the field of sociology turned their gaze downward, away from macro-sociological constructs in order to focus their attention on middle-range empirical projects. It took almost 20 years for the concept of the institution to work its back onto the empirical research agenda of mainstream sociologists. The new institutional project in organizational sociology led the way. Since then, scholars in this tradition have achieved a great deal but there is still much more to accomplish. Here, future directions for research are considered by reviewing how the concept of the institution has come to be treated by mainstream philosophers, sociologists of science and technology studies, and social network theorists.

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The private sector as a sociological laboratory

This article discusses the experiences and obstacles the author encountered while conducting research on dislocated workers from a privately owned inner city printing company that closed in 1993. While these experiences are meant to guide others, the primary issue addressed is the schism between social science academicians, particularly sociologists and members of the business community, and its impact on the relationship between economics and sociology. The possible causes and consequences of the problems sociologists face when using the private sector as a research laboratory, and its effect on the sub-field of economic sociology, are also explored. Recommendations for breaking down these barriers are considered. David A. Reingold received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago, and wrote his dissertation on plant closings, worker dislocation, and low-wage labor markets. He has published articles on the employment problem of the urban poor, as well as the effect of inner-city public housing on community participation and work behavior. His work appeared in Urban Studies, Economic Development Quarterly and the journal of Urban Affairs. Currently, he is working on a study of welfare reform’s impact on human service providers.     

Factors associated with expectation of household's future financial condition

Path analysis is used to examine the causal relationships among selected objective and subjective factors associated with a household's expectation of future financial condition. Results indicate that respondents who perceive the effect of changes in the external environment on their own household's financial condition as positive are younger, have higher net worth, perceive more internal control over their situation, and report that most of the changes in the external environment are positive. Respondents who are younger, have higher income, perceive more internal control over their situation, and believe the effect of changes in the external environment on their household's financial condition are positive are more likely to be optimistic about their financial future. It is important that educators and financial advisors recognize the significant role perception of being in control plays in determining expectations of future financial condition.Journal Paper No. J-15256 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Project No. 2809. Data were collected in conjunction with the cooperative regional research project NC-182, Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well-Being of Rural Families. Cooperating states are Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota.Her current research interests include family financial management and consumer bankruptcy; she received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois; her current research interests include gender roles, family financial management, and economic well-being.She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Her research interests are economic well-being and quality of life.Her current research interests include the economic well-being of various family forms. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.     

GREAT MEN AND HARD TIMES: SOCIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Sociology at the University of Minnesota has had a long and distinguished history. From its founding in 1910 many prominent sociologists have taught and have graduated from the department. We present an overview of the growth of the department, and certain influential events which affected the direction of department governance and intellectual development. The department achieved its "Golden Age" under the leadership of F. Stuart Chapin, who chaired the department for nearly three decades (1922–1951). We speculate about the internal and external pressures that have affected the Minnesota department-and other sociology departments-over the past two decades, during its period of greatest expansion but of significant tensions as well.     

WOMEN SOCIOLOGISTS IN THE MIDWEST: A STATUS UPDATE

In this article, an earlier study of the status of academic women sociologists in the Midwest that was extended to 1984–1985 is discussed. Type of appointment, rank, and chairpersons, as well as position in a Ph.D. rather than an M.A. program were used in the study as indicators of employment status. Midwest Sociological Society (MSS) leadership positions and participation in the annual MSS meeting served as indicators of professional participation. The results show that gains in employment status for women slowed in the 1980s. Employment of women in sociology department positions, especially in full-time positions and higher ranks, continued to lag behind the proportion of women Ph.D.s in the field. Women were overrepresented in the secondary labor market of part-time employment. However, women are now almost as likely to be employed in Ph.D. as well as M.A. programs. While gains in employment status generally slowed, professional participation has accellerated in recent years. Possible explanations for the differential penetrability of the two realms are offered. The appropriateness of statistical parity as a standard for evaluating equality in academic employment also is discussed. This article proposes that structural barriers to employment equity for women may not be more significant than direct discrimination.