Effects of Community on Status Attainment*

The major objective of the research reported here is to investigate the significance and meaning of the contextual effects of communities on individuals’ opportunities for socioeconomic attainment. A model which incorporates both individuals and their communities is proposed and tested. The empirical test was done by using samples of the Israeli labor force population. The findings demonstrate that community has significant effects on individuals’ attainment. Community seems to be an additional factor that affects social mobility and as such an important dimension of the stratification system. Characteristics defining the social context of the community as an opportunity structure are identified and their significance discussed.     

Some Effects of the Introduction of a Policy of Bilingualism in the Polyglot Community of Sudbury*

Un sondage parmi les élèves de 4e et de 9e des écoles de Sudbury montre que la politique de bilinguisme des gouvernements du Canada et de l'Ontario a donné confiance aux Franco-Ontariens quant à l'avenir de leur langue au pays: des parents qui, dix ans plus tôt, auraient envoye leurs enfants dans des écoles anglaises, les envoient aujourd'hui dans des écoles françaises; le français se parle d'avantage à la maison. L'anglais cependant continue à prévaloir, mais son rôle se modifie. Pour les uns, il devient l'une des deux langues officielles; pour tous, il demeure la lingua franca. Les gens de troisième langue ont de nouveaux espoirs pour la survie de leurs cultures. L'idée du creuset recule. A survey of grades 4 and 9 school children in Sudbury shows that the bilingual policy of the governments of Canada and Ontario has inspired optimism among French-Ontarians concerning the future of their language in this country. Parents, who ten years ago would have sent their children to English schools, now send them to French schools; French is spoken more often in the home. English remains predominant, but its role is changing. For some, it remains one of the two official languages; for everyone, it remains the lingua franca. Third language people have new hopes for the maintenance of their cultures. The idea of a melting pot is fading away.     

The Effects of Work and Community Resources and Demands on Family Integration

This paper uses interviews with 1,156 married dual-earner parents of children aged 10–17 from the 1992–1994 National Survey of Families and Households to examine relationships between work and community resources and demands and two aspects of family integration: activities with adolescents and family cohesion. The results indicate that mothers' shorter paid work hours and fathers' lower participation in community-professional organizations and moderate and high levels of informal helping are positively related to activities with adolescents, whereas moderate and high levels of participation in organized youth activities are positively related to family integration. Community-based subjective resources are positively related to family integration, whereas work-based subjective demands are negatively related to family cohesion. The findings generally are similar for mothers and fathers.     

Examining the Effects of Community Satisfaction and Attachment on Individual Well‐Being*

Abstract Using data collected in a general population survey from a random sample of individuals in four communities in Pennsylvania, I examine the effects of community satisfaction and attachment on self‐assessed individual well‐being. I find substantial support for the hypothesis that satisfaction with the community and attachment to the community are associated independently and positively with individual well‐being. Bivariate and multiple correlation/regression analyses reveal that greater community satisfaction and attachment result in higher levels of perceived well‐being. Although the total explained variances of the community satisfaction and attachment measures are small, they do not differ substantially from various social and demographic factors that have been found to be associated with well‐being. I propose possible implications of these findings and make suggestions for future research.     

Empirical Considerations on the Problem of Social Integration*

The present study analyzes differences in perception of neighborhood and residential mobility as related to formal and informal participation. Results show that perceived similarity is related to neighborhood participation, while residential mobility is related to formal group membership. These relationships, with very few exceptions, seem to persist even in the presence of other control variables like age, education and religion. A significant proportion of the urban community participates frequently with neighbors and belongs to church and other formal groups. These activities are generally high in the suburb and low in the inner city regardless of differences in perception of neighborhood and residential mobility except for membership in organizational groups: the high membership in the suburb occurs under conditions of perceived similarity. The theoretical implications suggest a re-evaluation of the mode of life in the modern urban community and emphasize the significance of taking the perceptual as well as the behavioral context into account in sociological analysis.     

Some Thoughts on Creating the Future*

Most futurologists seem to assume that the best way of coping with the future is to perfect methodologies of prediction, but the ability to forecast accurately may not be the crucial element in dealing effectively with the future. Rather, trying to create the future might be far more fruitful, a possibility this paper explores in some detail.     

Some Reflections on the Crisis in Sociology*

Claims that sociology must be divided into closed ideological and paradigmatic camps are critically examined. Convergences among the major analytical approaches are considered and possible explanations explored.     

Twentieth Century Wars: Some Short-Term Effects on Intergroup Relations in the United States*

There is a close correspondence between war and collective racial violence in the twentieth century United States. War stimulates minority group migration and often heightens the assertiveness of minorities. Both of these conditions may act to precipitate ethnic violence, though the form of that violence varies depending on social conditions. In popular wars following periods of economic scarcity and competition (e.g., World Wars I and II), minority population growth and heightened minority assertiveness may lead majority groups to feel threatened and act aggressively to protect their advantages. The result is often ethnic attack by the dominant group against minorities. Popular wars may also precipitate violence by creating a desire on the homefront for vicarious participation in overseas wars. The results of minority population growth and heightened assertiveness may be different in an unpopular war following a period of economic growth, especially if social upheaval is already occurring before the war (e.g., Vietnam). Under these conditions, minority population growth and minority assertiveness more often lead to minority group rebellions, and there may be little attempt at repression by dominant group civilians. Ethnic attack or collective repressive actions against minorities associated with “the enemy” are also common, especially in popular wars, but they are more likely to be directed at minorities who are already targets of prejudice and discrimination.     

Neighborhood Experiences and Community Integration

Abstract

This exploratory study examines the social interactional aspect of community integration among persons with psychiatric disabilities. Six focus groups were conducted with 18 mental health consumers in three publicly sponsored community residential programs and 11 staff members providing services to these consumers. Mental health consumers reported both positive and negative experiences in their interactions with community residents. Despite perceived differences between persons with psychiatric disabilities and their neighbors, consumers considered reciprocity and mutual accommodation to be critical for building social relationships in their communities. Mental health providers suggested that social integration can be facilitated by developing independent living and social skills, by overcoming self-stigma and institutional and homeless mindsets, and by having a supportive community of consumers.     

对打造西关文化品牌的若干思考

西关文化是岭南文化的重要组成部分。西关文化包含物质文化和非物质文化两个层面,以西关小姐、西关名人、西关民俗为代表的西关人文,以西关大屋、骑楼街、西关五宝为代表的西关物品,以及记载包括十三行文化在内的大量历史文献典籍成为研究西关文化的三类重要载体。打好人、物、志三张牌,对于培育、宣传西关文化品牌具有重要的历史价值和现实意义。     

Some Consequences of the Meadian Self*

Mead's conception of the self is analyzed as an internal interaction process, with the “I” viewed as taking perspectives rather than being simply a biologic response. Conceptualizing the self as an intrapersonal process of interaction from differentiated perspectives permits a better understanding of false fronting, autonomy, and creativity. Emergence theory allows us to take a Phenomenological view of the self. Several levels of consciousness in Mead's theory are analyzed, and connections with Berger and Luckmann's conceptions of objectivation and the symbolic universe are suggested.     

Voluntary Organizations and Attitudes Toward the Community*

Voluntary organizations have long been believed to have important effects on the attitudes of their members, but the relatively few attempts to investigate such effects have produced inconsistent results. This paper uses a statewide proportional sample to investigate relationships between (a) membership and participation in ten types of voluntary organizations and (b) two types of attitudes about the community. After individual and community characteristics were controlled, experience with voluntary organizations was found to explain about five percent of the variance in respondents' perceptions of their ability to influence community affairs, but relationships with willingness to leave the community were considerably weaker. Somewhat stronger relationships were found when the analysis was confined to respondents for whom voluntary organizations or community participation was particularly salient. Overall, this paper indicates that the impact of voluntary organizations on community attitudes is weaker than earlier theoretical statements have suggested. However, it also shows that the relationship varies according to type of organization, salience of participation for the respondent, respondents' sociodemographic characteristics, and the specific community attitude being investigated.     

The Socio-economic Integration of the Ethiopian Community in Israel

Using data from the 1995 Israeli Census of Population, this study examines the demographic, human capital, and labour force characteristics of the Ethiopian community in Israel and its determinants of employment. The results provide strong evidence for the overall disadvantaged socio‐economic status of the Ethiopian community and reveal substantial gaps in educational and occupational attainment between Ethiopian Israelis and members of other ethnic groups in Israeli society. Ethiopian Israelis have substantially lower levels of education, lower employment rates, and are more likely to have low‐skilled occupations. However, multivariate analyses show that the determinants of employment of Ethiopian Israelis are relatively similar to those of other ethnic groups. Education and veteran status are found to be especially important factors associated with increased odds of employment. Although the rates of return from education are lower among Israelis of Ethiopian origin compared to other ethnic groups, this study suggests that education constitutes the major avenue for upward mobility in the Ethiopian community. Nevertheless, considering their current disadvantaged position, the question of whether Ethiopian immigrants will manage in the long run to climb up the socio‐economic ladder and significantly improve their status, or whether they run the risk of becoming a marginalized ethnic group in Israeli society, remains a major concern. Implications for the formation of a new cleavage in Israeli society and the emergence of a stratification system based on race are discussed.     

A Theory of Integration and Freedom*

The relation betwee freedom and social integration is examined using the theories of Landecker and of Kolb. Data are from a purposive sample of 25 communal and formal organizations. Information was gathered through questionnaires and participant observation. Two dimensions of integration are used, normative and consensual; three types of freedom are employed, ego, conditional, and disciplined. The basic hypothesis is that the dimensions of integration vary with the types of freedom. Normative and consensual integration will be positively associated with disciplined freedom, these dimensions will vary inversely with ego freedom, and conditional freedom will occupy an intermediate position. The hypotheses are confirmed through multiple regression analysis. Durkheim's mechanical solidarity is seen to be associated with disciplined freedom. Because we consider freedom and integration inseparable, this association is labeled consensual integration. Again following Durkheim, we hypothesize a new form of integration—contractual—based on ego freedom. They type accompanied by conditional freedom is called provisional integration. Observations are offered on the relation of these forms of integration to social change.     

Durkheim on Religion and Moral Community in Modernity*

Durkheim's theory of religion is approached from the perspective of his lifelong concern with the question of meaning and moral order in modern society. This emphasis naturally leads to a consideration of wider themes informing Durkheim's sociology of religion than are usually found in analyses focusing exclusively on his treatment of primitive religion in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1964). Durkheim sees as the distinguishing feature of modernity the progressive emancipation of the individual from traditional sources of influence. The evolution toward greater individuation, culminating in the “cult of the individual” or “religion of humanity,” is set by Durkheim within the context of the role of collective ideals in promoting social change and in the maintenance of moral order. Religion, the major symbolic expression of societal wide ideals, is identified as the key variable which enables Durkheim to reconcile the competing demands of individuals for freedom with the interests of society in collective welfare.     

文化生态视域下城市文化"形—神"一体式塑造

文化生态是研究文化体系的重要概念,也是审视文化发展的重要视角,与自然生态概念、生态文明话语体系等形成交叉互释的关系.城市文化生态建设需要将"赋神"与"塑形"结合起来,而不是将两者割裂,在这一基础上挖掘文化内涵,凝聚文化精神,塑造文化形象,彰显文化气质,在这一过程中体现文化生态的一体式整合力量.因此,在城市文化发展中,应以文化生态理念统摄内质与外形,从时间和空间两方面构建内涵丰富、形象饱满的城市文化生态体系.