Home Ownership, Social Insurance, and the Welfare State

Home ownership has potentially significant consequences for welfare state policy. High owner-occupancy rates may function as private insurance where social spending is low (a substitution effect). Alternatively, state income redistribution policies could raise the number of home owners (an income effect). Cross-national time-series data show that social spending is negatively related to home ownership, and mediates the positive relationship between income inequality and owner-occupancy rates. This suggests that owner-occupancy acts as a form of social insurance over the life course. Future welfare state researchers should consider the issue of home ownership in analyses of inequality and the social safety net.

States and the nuclear power. An international perspective

This paper analyzes the evolution of public policies on nuclear energy from an international perspective highlighting an interesting sociological paradox: the opposition to nuclear power contributed to the development of the environmental movement; and at present, the promoters of this kind of energy are including environmental arguments in their discourses, the fear of climate change and the reduction of CO₂. Although the Kyoto Protocol does not accept this kind of energy as a clean development mechanism (CDM), its promotion is carried out on the basis of environment objectives, so that the nuclear lobby is obtaining more social acceptation thanks to the environmental discourse in the last four decades. For this research, the nuclear policies at an international level are analyzed inside a wider research about the nuclear debate financed by Encuentro Foundation (Spain).     

Nursing Home Ownership Trends and Their Impacts on Quality of Care: A Study Using Detailed Ownership Data From Texas

The role of ownership in the provision of nursing home care has long been a challenging issue for policy makers and researchers. Although much of the focus historically has been on differences between for-profit and not-for-profit facilities, this simple distinction has become less useful in recent years as companies have employed more complicated ownership and management structures. Using detailed ownership data from the state of Texas, we describe the evolution of nursing home corporate structures from 2000 to 2007, analyze the effect of these structures on quality of care and staffing in nursing homes, and discuss the policy implications of these changes.     

Social responsibility,individualism, and redistributive policies

Previous research supports the consensus on individualism hypothesis, which holds that most Americans value hard work and self-reliance, perceive an open opportunity structure, and as a result, oppose redistributive policies, whether targeted by race or designed to help the poor in general. In contrast, this paper shows that one form of egalitarianism, a sense of social responsibility, remains a potent American value. Factor analysis of 18 stratification belief items from the 1984 General Social Survey results in two dimensions—one involving social responsibility and the other economic individualism. Social responsibility is the more powerful predictor of redistributive policy attitudes. Individuals who place a higher priority on social responsibility than on individualism are more likely than those with the opposite priorities to support redistributive policies, but are also disproportionately low income, black, and less politically active. These results suggest that economic individualism appears a hegemonic value in the United States partly because of the lack of political influence and low socioeconomic status of those most committed to social responsibility beliefs.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1986 meetings of the American Sociological Association in New York.     

上海绿色电力机制实施效果评价

上海是我国最早实施绿色电力机制的城市之一。但现行的自愿认购机制实施效果不佳,大部分绿电没有得到认购,大量绿色电力不能通过现有机制得到消费,造成可再生能源产业的良性发展缺乏动力。     

English in contemporary Sweden: Perceptions,policies, and narrated practices

This paper compares trends in Sweden's language planning and language policies, and particularly the rationale underlying recent government legislation, to actual language use at the ‘grass roots’ of society, in order to investigate the extent to which academic and official rationales are confirmed by observed language practices. The passing of the Swedish Language Act of 2009 followed debates in academia and the media which not infrequently characterised English as a major threat to the survival of Swedish. However, despite the strong belief in the utility of English widely held in Sweden, the Swedish language is the preferred language of Swedes as well as immigrants in most domains. These results reveal a contradiction between the arguments put forward by a number of academics, educators and journalists concerning the ‘threat’ of English, and the language practices of ordinary folk in their daily lives.     

Policies and practices of diversity: reimagining possibilities for new discourses

The processes of globalization have demanded that emergent countries include issues of diversity into their political, economic and educational agendas. Consequently, educational institutions have started, in order to adscribe to requests made by transnational organizations (UNESCO, the World Bank and OECD), to include diversity as a priority to develop curricular proposals and policies for education. This article critiques how diversity discourses have been produced and circulated through public policies within the Chilean educational context. The design of new special education policies in Chile provides a critical context for the uses of diversity, how it is framed and what are the discourses associated with diverse educational contexts. The discussion is organized around two main questions: what are the main discourses of diversity produced by policies and practices and what do policies on diversity do?     

Frames,organisations, and practices as social components of energy

The paper examines three social dimensions of energy. The first one is cognitive; energy is a way of knowing, a macro-concept which works as a frame. Moreover, energy is conceived as a social product; its physical aspects are inextricably bound up with human interactions and meaning attributions. The second dimension is energy organisation. Energy is an instrument used by human beings in order to achieve a goal. In that sense, energy can be assimilated to a technology: that is, a set of knowledges, tools, and actions assembled according to certain rules and traditions. Of energy as organisation it is interesting to consider how it becomes an institution. Its third dimension is practical: it guides our behaviour. This meaning sums up the other two. Energy consumption makes it possible to understand different lifestyles, different logics of action, different habits or customs. It is intrinsic to the most common practices. Worries about consumption or resources depletion are included in some practices of which energy is one of the most important components. The paper concludes with a comment on the energy crisis as a test for the illustrated multidimensional scheme.     

Separate and Unequal: The Housing Act of 1968 and the Section 235 Program

In recent years scholars have identified racial disparities in wealth and home ownership as crucial factors underlying patterns of racial inequality and residential segregation in American metropolitan housing markets. While numerous federal housing policies have been identified as responsible for reinforcing residential segregation and racial inequalities in home ownership, little research has focused on the segregative effects of the Section 235 program. As one component of the 1968 Housing Act, Section 235 was designed to shift the focus of federal housing policy away from dispensing aid to local housing authorities for building public housing to providing direct supply-side subsidies to the private sector to stimulate home ownership for nonwhites and the poor. Archival and census data, government reports and housing analyses, and oral histories and interviews are used to examine the segregative effects of the Section 235 program in Kansas City, Missouri from 1969 through the early 1970s. Findings indicate that while the housing subsidy program allowed a vast majority of participating white families to purchase new housing in suburban areas, most participating African American families purchased existing homes located in racially transitional neighborhoods in the inner city. These findings corroborate recent research showing how the market-centered focus of federal housing policy has impaired the ability of African Americans to accumulate wealth through home ownership and reinforced racially segregative housing patterns.     

Disability and going green: a comparison of the environmental values and behaviours of persons with and without disability

Some studies have suggested that socially excluded groups exhibit different environmental values and behaviours from mainstream society. To consider this in the context of disability, a survey was implemented to investigate environmental values and ecological behaviour. A high percentage of participants considered themselves to have a disability, long‐standing illness or infirmity. Over half of the sample had restricted physical mobility. The study used the revised New Ecological Paradigm Scale, a widely used measure of pro‐environmental orientation, and the General Ecological Behaviour scale to assess ecological behaviours. No significant differences were found between respondents with/without disability for either their general environmental attitudes or their general ecological behaviour. However, a positive correlation was found between level of physical mobility and general ecological behaviour. The results also show significant differences in the ecological behaviours of those respondents living dependently and those living independently; respondents living in care scored lower on the ecological behaviour scale.     

Immigration and resiliency: unpacking the experiences of high school students from Cape Verde and Ethiopia

This article explores the complex factors, both individual and social, that contribute to the resiliency and academic achievement of six adolescent African immigrant students from Cape Verde and Ethiopia who were enrolled in a small high school in the United States. The school was designed specifically for recent adolescent immigrant students. Using an in-depth qualitative case study research design, this study provides insight into the educational and social issues confronted by these students and the factors that contributed to their resiliency. The competencies and social capital that students acquired in school and at home were major contributing factors to their resilience and academic achievement. Findings show that these students had a supportive social network of family and friends who had encouraged them to succeed in school and provided mentoring, and material and social resources that helped them to succeed. In addition, teachers encouraged and engaged the students by having high expectations and connecting them to the curriculum in meaningful ways.     

A review of tree root conflicts with sidewalks,curbs, and roads

Literature relevant to tree root and urban infrastructure conflicts is reviewed. Although tree roots can conflict with many infrastructure elements, sidewalk and curb conflicts are the focus of this review. Construction protocols, urban soils, root growth, and causal factors (soil conditions, limited planting space, tree size, variation in root architecture, management practices, and construction materials) are discussed. Because costs related to sidewalk and curb damage are substantial, a review of research addressing repair, mitigation, prevention, and litigation costs is included. Finally, future research needs are discussed.

Potential for conflicts between trees and sidewalks/curbs is high when one or more of these factors are present: tree species that are large at maturity, fast growing trees, trees planted in restricted soil volumes, shallow top soil (hard-pan underneath top-soil), shallow foundations underneath the sidewalk (limited or no base materials), shallow irrigation, distances between the tree and sidewalk of less than 2.0–3.0 m., trees greater than 15 to 20 years old.

The results of this survey indicate that cities are spending substantial sums of money to address conflicts between street tree roots and infrastructure. It can be inferred that most of these expenditures are spent dealing with problems that already exist. However, this raises the question: How much is being spent now to ensure that conflicts are minimized in the future?

Future research should concentrate on plant factors, site design, and construction of sidewalks and curbs. Also, more knowledge is needed about interactions between root growth and management techniques, such as pruning and irrigation. Finally, there is need for studies that will assist policy-makers to efficiently allocate funds among repair, mitigation, prevention, and legal remedies.

     

Service vs. manufacturing: how to address more effectively eco-innovation public policies by disentangling the different characteristics of industries

Eco-innovation is actually a fashionable topic, and several researchers are working on understanding the defining characteristics of firms that consider the environment as a priority when innovating. To date most of these studies have been carried out on manufacturing industries. This article investigates the similarities and differences among service and manufacturing firms. An empirical analysis of a sample of 5509 Spanish companies shows that the variables affecting the eco-innovative orientation of firms are quite similar. Results reveal that manufacturing firms have higher orientation toward the environment than service firms. Furthermore, highly polarized positions in environmental aspects can be found. Despite the limitations of the study, conclusions may help public policy to encourage environmental proactivity in service industry and innovation.     

Men,Resources, and Family Living: The Determinants of Union and Parental Status in the United States and Sweden

Household fatherhood (living with a partner and her children) is increasingly common, which also increases the types of family situations men can choose. This paper examines factors distinguishing men's partnership and parental statuses in the United States and Sweden. These countries differ in state support to families. Unlike the United States, in Sweden the presence of a man in a relationship with a woman with children has little effect on receipt of alternative forms of income support and health insurance, lowering the cost of men's membership in families. We examine how resources (earned income and education) affect men's family relationships in these two countries.     

Value,attitude, and belief determinants of willingness to accept a facility for the homeless

Basic values, attitudes toward the homeless, and specific beliefs about a proposed facility were examined, along with the NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) phenomenon, to explore if, and to what degree, these factors affect community acceptance or rejection of a facility for the homeless. Previously designed Protestant ethic (PE) and Humanitarian-Egalitarian (HE) scales were used to measure two basic values (Katz & Hass, 1988). Scales to measure attitudes toward the homeless and beliefs about a planned facility were developed. As predicted, values, attitudes, and beliefs correlated with each other and were related to plan acceptance, so that HE, pro-homeless attitudes, and positive beliefs about the plan were positively related to acceptance, and PE, anti-homeless attitudes, and negative beliefs about the plan were positively related to rejection. Also as predicted, four proximity measures were all related to acceptance of the plan.     

Value,Attitude, and Belief Determinants of Willingness to Accept a Facility for the Homeless

Basic values, attitudes toward the homeless, and specific beliefs about a proposed facility were examined, along with the NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) phenomenon, to explore if, and to what degree, these factors affect community acceptance or rejection of a facility for the homeless. Previously designed Protestant ethic (PE) and Humanitarian-Egalitarian (HE) scales were used to measure two basic values (Katz & Hass, 1988). Scales to measure attitudes toward the homeless and beliefs about a planned facility were developed. As predicted, values, attitudes, and beliefs correlated with each other and were related to plan acceptance, so that HE, pro-homeless attitudes, and positive beliefs about the plan were positively related to acceptance, and PE, anti-homeless attitudes, and negative beliefs about the plan were positively related to rejection. Also as predicted, four proximity measures were all related to acceptance of the plan.     

Protocols,practices, and the reproduction of technique in molecular biology

Protocols are one of the main organizational resources in molecular biology. They are written instructions that specify ingredients, equipment, and sequences of steps for making technical preparations. Some protocols are published in widely used manuals, while others are hand-written variants used by particular laboratories and individual technicians. It is widely understood, both in molecular biology and in social studies of science, that protocols do not describe exactly what practitioners do in the laboratory workplace. In social studies of science, the difference between protocols and the actual practices of doing them often is used to set up ironic contrasts between 'messy' laboratory practices and the appearance of technical order. Alternatively, in ethnomethodological studies of work, the difference is examined as a constitutive feature, both of the lived-work of doing technical projects, and of the administrative work of regulating and evaluating such projects. The present article takes its point of departure from ethnomethodology, and begins with a discussion of local problems with performing molecular biology protocols on specific occasions. The discussion then moves to particular cases in criminal law in which defense attorneys cross-examine forensic technicians and lab administrators. In these interrogations, the distinction between protocols and actual practices animates the dialogue and becomes consequential for judgments in the case at hand. The article concludes with a discussion of administrative science: the work of treating protocols and paper trails as proxies for actual 'scientific' practices.     

Interdependencies, values and the reshaping of difference: gender and generation at the birth of twentieth-century modernity

The paper explores the mutuality of values, claims and social relations in the process of social change. Values are not separable from social relations but are embedded in the shaping and reshaping of social difference and interdependence. The paper focuses on developments around the turn of the twentieth century, and analyses changes in the relative social positioning of children and adults, and women and men, shifting patterns of interdependence, and linked values and ideas about difference. The reconfiguring of generational and gender relations was integral to the first fertility decline, to transformation in family life and societal divisions of labour, and to the embedding of particular values and claims regarding gendered difference, identities and gender appropriate roles. Analysis of these developments reveals the mutuality of 'cultural' and 'material' processes and holds lessons for interpreting social change today.