Ethnographic insights into competing forms of co‐production: A case study of the politics of street trees in a northern English city

The aim of this article is to explore the link between different notions of co‐production. It seeks to emphasise the underlying politics of co‐production in the sense of who defines co‐production, especially in relation to initial decisions concerning which specific policy areas are deemed suitable for codesigning, cocreating, or codelivering with services users or local communities. We argue that the rejection of co‐production by government may inflame political resentment and reconfirm negative pre‐existing attitudes about “the establishment.” This is particularly problematic when politicians have promoted the rhetoric of “inclusive governance,” “sharing power,” or “delegating power” but then reject the co‐productive claims emerging from such statements. The study contributes to existing work by analysing what happens when co‐productive structures are terminated or when public protests demand the reinstitutionalisation of those relationships. We make this contribution by presenting findings from an ethnographic case study involving street trees in a large English city. We suggest these specific findings have a broader relevance.     

O Other,Where Art Thou? Support for Multiparty Politics in the United States*

Objective. We test hypotheses about support for multiparty politics in the United States. We expect that individual‐level attitudes and state‐level partisan context determine who supports having more parties. Methods. Survey data are used to model attitudes about having additional parties to challenge Democrats and Republicans. Results. Self‐identified partisans are opposed to additional parties, but independents who “lean” toward a major party are most supportive. Independents who say they are closer to Democrats, as well as independents who say they are closer to Republicans, tend to support having new parties. The latter effect is contingent on a state's partisan context. Independents closer to Republicans are most receptive to additional parties in states where fewer conservative representatives are elected. Conclusions. Support for multiparty‐ism among “leaning” independents challenges our understanding of how they may be similar to partisan identifiers, and illustrates that a base for new parties may exist in the “mainstream” public if electoral rules were changed.     

生命与伦理:齐美尔生命哲学基础上的个体法则

以其早年对货币经济下的个体处境及两种个体主义的思考为背景，晚年的齐美尔在生命哲学的基础上集中阐述了有关伦理准则的个体法则。西方的主导伦理思想视伦理为普遍法则对个体行动的约束，普遍法则的合法性建立在一种二元对立的、机械的、理性的、目的论的视角之上。个体法则却以作为应该的个体生命为源泉，打破了以康德为代表的西方伦理思想中的各种视角局限，同时回应了齐美尔早年有关货币经济、文化悲剧和个体主义的思考，提供了一种与功利主义、利己主义等不同的个体主义话语。     

Social workers' attitudes towards family group conferences in Sweden and the UK

The New Zealand family group conference (FGC) approach to decision making in child welfare and protection has attracted strong interest among policy makers and professionals all over the world. While New Zealand’s legislation makes use of FGCs more or less mandatory in child protection, other countries permit social workers to refer families to an FGC at their own discretion. Knowledge about social workers’ attitudes towards the model is thus paramount if we want to understand implementation and evaluations of FGCs outside New Zealand. This study looks at attitudes towards and actual referrals to FGCs amongst 219 social workers from 18 local authorities in Sweden and the UK. Results reveal an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards FGCs in both countries. Given these attitudes it was striking that only 42% of the social workers had initiated at least one FGC over an 18‐month period. The number of implemented FGCs was almost exactly the same in Sweden and the UK, after adjusting for time and number of social workers. Possible explanations for this paradox are discussed, using data from the survey and child welfare literature.     

Pressures on State Welfare in Post‐industrial Societies: Is More or Less Better?

Although contemporary comparative welfare state research has advanced our knowledge of how welfare states respond to exogenous and endogenous pressures, the nature and implications of these pressures themselves on post‐industrial societies remains somewhat unknown. In the research literature phenomena such as globalization, Europeanization, demographics, individualization and changing labour markets are often claimed to put considerable pressure on welfare states. We analyse which of the alleged pressures are real “crises” or “challenges” to welfare states and which pressures should only be considered as “controversies”—phenomena whose impacts are nonsignificant, ambiguous, or have not been asserted. We suggest that pressures on post‐industrial societies may not, as is commonly believed, be countered with retrenchment and restructuring of welfare states. In fact, some pressures seem to call for more rather than less welfare state.     

Szasz and His Interlocutors: Reconsidering Thomas Szasz's "Myth of Mental Illness" Thesis

It is a matter of some irony that psychiatry's most trenchant critic for over four decades is himself a psychiatrist. I refer to Thomas S. Szasz. Szasz's core thesis may be succinctly rendered: mental illness is a “myth”, a “metaphor” which serves only to obscure the social and ethical “problems in living” we face as human beings. This paper reconsiders the conceptual bases of Szasz's assault on psychiatry and assesses recent counter‐arguments of his critical interlocutors. It presents a defence of the Szaszian conception and emphasises the continuing relevance of his earliest work. Additionally, the paper discusses Szasz's thesis in light of the work of the influential French philosopher of medicine, Georges Canguilhem.     

The Interaction of Race and Gender: Changing Gender‐Role Attitudes, 1974–2006*

Objective. The purpose of this article is to assess over‐time trends in the interactive effects of gender and race on attitudes toward the changing roles of women in U.S. society. Methods. This article uses data from the 1974–2006 General Social Survey. Gender‐role attitudes are measured using two composite indices of traditionalism. Results. We find black females tend to hold less traditional gender‐role attitudes than their black male, white male, and white female counterparts. Black and white males tend to hold similar attitudes toward women entering politics, but differ significantly in their attitudes toward women working outside the home and its impact on children. Assessing over‐time trends, we find the difference between black females and the other social groups to be generally diminishing. This convergence is more pronounced for white and black females. The difference in attitudes toward women entering politics between black females and white males, on the other hand, appears to be maintaining over time. Conclusions. These findings support the idea that the labor force participation for women may have provided the groundwork for the evolution of attitudes for men and women. As white women in particular increase participation in the workforce, ideologies regarding the place of women in U.S. society have shifted.     

Benefit dependency: The pros and cons of using “caseload” data for national and international comparisons

Policy‐makers in advanced welfare states have increasingly expressed concerns over large numbers of working‐age people claiming social security support. Accordingly, policies aimed at reducing the level of “benefit dependency” have gained prominence. However, such policies rest on shaky empirical evidence. Systematic collections of national “caseload” data are rare, social security programmes overlap and administrative categories vary over time. The internationally inconsistent treatment of national transfer programmes provides a further challenge for cross‐national comparisons. This article first identifies and discusses several of these problems, and ways in which they may be addressed. It then employs administrative claimant data from six European countries as a way of illustrating trends over time and across countries. The underlying aim is to explore the scientific potential of benefit recipient numbers as an indicator for welfare state change over time and across countries.     

When political values and perceptions of deservingness collide: Evaluating public support for homelessness investments in Canada

Citizen attitudes toward welfare state investments are often explained by their ideological values and their perceptions of deservingness of welfare recipients, yet recent experimental research has led to the theorization that clear deservingness cues can overwhelm otherwise strong ideological beliefs. We tested these claims with respect to homelessness in Canada using a vignette survey experiment and found evidence that citizens with very different political beliefs can support similar government investments, indeed from a shared sense of deservingness as suggested by recent experimental studies, but that support is anchored by rather different reasons. Key Practitioner Message: ? Citizen support for homelessness investments is jointly mediated by ideology and a sense of the “deservingness” of the beneficiary. ? Emphasizing the broader cost savings to taxpayers from “Housing First” does not make conservative‐leaning citizens more supportive of investments. ? Emphasizing the personal attributes of persons experiencing homelessness rather than abstract statistics may unite progressives and conservatives on “deservingness”.     

The Myth of “Security Moms” and “NASCAR Dads”: Parenthood,Political Stereotypes,and the 2004 Election*

Objective. The objective of this article is to explore the impact of being a parent on political views and to test the accuracy of the “Security Mom” and “NASCAR Dad” labels that were pervasively applied in the context of the 2004 presidential election. Methods. The methods we employed consist of using data primarily from the 2004 National Election Study to determine whether parents differ from nonparents in terms of their political attitudes on a wide range of issues. We argue that parenthood affects women and men differently, so we analyze the sexes separately. Results. Mothers have important political distinctions from women without children, mostly in the case of social welfare issues. They do not, however, appear to be “Security Moms” in the post‐9/11 world. As for fathers, for the most part it makes little sense to talk about dads as a distinct voting bloc, as in very few cases do their political attitudes differ from men without children. Conclusions. The media's use of the labels “NASCAR Dad” and Security Mom” promoted an inaccurate understanding of the political preferences of parents. Beyond debunking these media myths, our results provide one of the first comprehensive looks at the impact of parenthood on political attitudes, an overlooked area in the adult socialization literature.     

What children want to know about in‐ and out‐groups,and how knowledge affects their intergroup attitudes

One of the key factors contributing to the development of negative attitudes toward out‐groups is lack of knowledge about them. The present study investigated what type of information 3‐ to 4‐ and 5‐ to 6‐ year‐old Jewish Israeli children (N = 82) are interested in acquiring about unfamiliar in‐ and out‐group individuals, and how providing children with the requested information affects their intergroup attitudes. Children were shown pictures of individuals from three groups—an in‐group (“Jews”), a “conflict” out‐group (“Arabs”), and a “neutral” out‐group (“Scots”)—and were asked what they would like to know about them. The experimenter responded by either answering all of children's questions, half of the questions, or none. Children's attitudes toward the groups were also assessed. It was found that children asked the most questions in regard to conflict out‐group individuals. Moreover, the older age group asked more questions regarding the psychological characteristics, and fewer questions regarding the social identity, of the conflict out‐group than of the other two groups. Finally, full provision of information improved attitudes toward the groups, especially among 3‐ to 4‐year olds, and especially regarding the conflict out‐group. These findings have implications for understanding the sources of intergroup biases, and for developing interventions to reduce them.     

Gender similarity in growth patterns of support toward friends during young adulthood

The purpose of this article was to analyze change over time in a specific aspect of prosocial behavior, emotional support toward friends, using two different methodologies. We examined how emotional support changes during the transition to adulthood and whether gender‐based group comparisons yield different gender patterns than person‐centered growth mixture models. We hypothesized that emotional helping toward friends would increase over time and that person‐centered analyses would not show gender differences as large as those indicated by group comparison models. Participants were 466 young adults (ages 18–21). Findings indicated that important intragroup variance was masked when analyses focused on comparisons between gender groups. Person‐centered analyses indicated two mixed‐gender groups with different prosocial trajectories. We discuss how the methods and outcomes of person‐centered analyses are more congruent with current theories of “gender similarities” as well as empirical evidence of the small gender difference in social behaviors such as emotional support.     

Part I: Gravestones and Epitaphs. “Grinning Skulls,Smiling Cherubs,Bitter Words”

We have said that gravestone studies is our own corner of research in American attitudes toward death. We begin with a discussion of burying grounds not only because it is our own, but because we have chosen gravestone s t d i e s to represent the historical backdrop against which our contributors view important twentieth century attitudes toward death in America. “Grinning Skulls, Smiling Cherubs, Bitter Words” discusses burial grounds and gravestone motifs in New England from the late seventeenth century through the early nineteenth century, and connects shifts in gravestone imagery to changes in social, intellectual and religious life in New England. “Ideologies in Stone: Meanings i n Victorian American Gravestones,” by Kenneth Ames, expands the geographical area nationwide, and covers the chronological period between 1850 and 1920. Like “Grinning Skulls,”“Ideologies in Stone” is concerned to connect the confines of the burying ground with the social values of the culture that produces it.     

A phenomenological case study on immigrant workers' gambling addiction in Korea

This study explores the experiences that have led some of Korea's immigrant workers into gambling addiction and examines possible social welfare services that could support treatment. Immigrant workers' gambling experience as aliens in Korea was analyzed through the methodology of a phenomenological case study. The participants, who voluntarily consented to the study, were five immigrant workers addicted to gambling. Data were collected through one‐on‐one, in‐depth interviews over 6 months, starting in July 2018. The essential themes that emerged in the interviews were “changing strategies for survival,” “forgetting oneself without any sense of responsibility or shame,” “gambling as routine daily life,” “obsession with making a fortune in one go,” and “no home to return to.” Based on its results, this study makes suggestions for the prevention of gambling addiction in immigrant workers. Further, future research needs to be broadened to analyze nationwide cases of immigrant workers with more diverse demographic backgrounds.     

Decomposing trends in attitudes toward gay marriage, 1988–2006

Objective. The objective of this article is to examine the trend in attitudes toward gay marriage through the analysis of data from the General Social Survey. Methods. Using linear decomposition techniques, I explain the change in attitudes toward gay marriage from 1988 to 2006. Results. Attitudes significantly liberalized over time; 71 percent opposed gay marriage in 1988, but by 2006, this figure dropped to 52 percent. Approximately two-thirds of this change was due to an intracohort change effect, or individuals' modifying their views over time, and one-third was due to a cohort succession effect, or later cohorts replacing earlier ones. This pattern was replicated across many subgroups of the U.S. public, including age, sex, residential, educational, and religious groups. Conclusion. The results suggest that the use of the “equality/tolerance” framing of gay marriage by its supporters and other societal events or “moments” may have convinced some people who used to disapprove of gay marriage in 1988 to approve of it by 2006.     

The Social Demography of Internet Dating in the United States*

Objective. The objective of this article is to identify the sociodemographic correlates of Internet dating net of selective processes that determine who is “at risk.” We also examine the role of computer literacy, social networks, and attitudes toward Internet dating among single Internet users. Methods. We use multivariate logistic regression to analyze 3,215 respondents from the first nationally representative U.S. survey of Internet dating. Results. Sociodemographic factors have strong effects on Internet access and single status but weak effects on use of Internet dating services once the sample is conditioned on these factors. For this “at‐risk” subpopulation, computer literacy and social networks strongly influence the likelihood of Internet dating. Conclusions. Internet dating is a common mate selection strategy among the highly selective subpopulation of single Internet users and may continue to grow through social networks. Material and virtual elements of the digital divide have direct and indirect effects on Internet dating.     

Class, Attitudes and the Welfare State: Sweden in Comparative Perspective

One of the most important arenas for contemporary class politics is the welfare state. In this article, attitudes towards welfare policies among different classes in Sweden are compared with other Western countries and over time. In the first part of the article, attitudes towards state intervention among different classes are compared across four Western countries: Sweden, Germany, Britain and the USA. The data come from the 1996 survey on “The Role of Government” conducted within the International Social Survey Programme. In the second part of the article, more detailed national data sets are used in order to track developments within Sweden from the early 1980s until 2002. Attitudes towards welfare spending, financing of welfare policies and service delivery are used to track developments of class differences in attitudes over time. It is concluded (a) that class differences are particularly large in Sweden, and (b) that changes over time indicate stability in overall class differences, combined with changes in attitudes among non‐manual employees. The implications of the results for recent arguments about the restructuring of class relations and the impact of welfare policies on stratification are discussed.     

Race,Political Empowerment,and Minority Perceptions of Judicial Fairness*

Objective. Recent studies of the impact of black elite electoral success on the system‐supporting attitudes of black citizens have yielded mixed, but generally unimpressive, empirical results. We extend this limited research by examining the effects of the presence of black judicial officials on public attitudes toward a state judicial system. Methods. We employ data from a telephone survey of citizens in Mississippi and develop multivariate models to test for the effects of black judges on citizens' evaluations of the fairness of judges, equity in sentences, and overall impartiality of the state judicial system. Results. We find no systematic evidence that the election of black judicial officials ameliorates the suspicions of the black public regarding the fairness of the state courts. Conclusions. Our findings are in line with other recent studies on the limited effects of black elite electoral success on the attitudes of the black public and generally support a “political reality” model of political trust rather than an “empowerment model.”     

Backing Barack Because He's Black: Racially Motivated Voting in the 2008 Election*

Objective. If racial considerations influenced the outcome of the 2008 presidential election, then how did they shape the campaign, why did race matter, and for whom were such considerations important? I hypothesize that various racial attitudes exert unique influences on voters' support of Obama and that the effects of these attitudes differ by race. Methods. Using a Time Magazine poll, I distinguish between “attitudes regarding Obama's ‘Blackness’” and “opinions about race relations,” and I examine such sentiments among White and African‐American respondents. Results. Regardless of race, Obama support was highest among voters who were “comfortable” with Black candidates. However, increased optimism with racial progress had no effect on Blacks' voting intentions, and it actually lowered Obama support among Whites. Conclusion. The conventional wisdom is that African Americans “backed Barack because he is Black”; I demonstrate that Obama's race mattered more to White voters than it did to Blacks.     

The evolution of Homo Discens: natural selection and human learning

This article takes an evolutionary “reverse engineering” standpoint on Homo discens, learning man, to track down the (learning) mechanisms that played a pivotal role in the natural selection of human being. The approach is “evolutionary sociological”—as opposed to gene‐centred or psychologising—and utilises notions of co‐evolutionary organism–environment transactions and niche construction. These are compatible with a Deweyan theory of action, which entails that in action one cannot but learn and one can only learn in action. Special attention is paid to apprentice‐like learning‐by‐doing peculiar to human socio‐cultural niches since the Pleistocene, which has permitted each subsequent generation to learn the many habits and skills needed in utilising the affordances of action that constitute their ecological niche. Affordances and actions have changed over the history of human–environment transactions, but the core mechanisms of human learning have not changed much. It is increasingly important to appreciate these mechanisms now in the global age “knowledge society,” which is in a way similar to the Pleistocene era: characterised by uncertainty and life‐determining problem‐situations without any ready‐made solutions, it calls for capacities to adapt to changing circumstances, and thus apprentice‐like learning in action supported by savvy epistemological engineering of learning environments.