Family formation among women in the U.S. military: Evidence from the nLSY

Although female employment is associated with lower levels of completed fertility in the civilian world, we find family formation rates among U.S. military women to be comparatively high. We compare enlisted women with civilian women using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 3,547), the only data set to measure simultaneously the nuptiality and fertility of both populations. Using propensity score matching, we show that the fertility effect derives primarily from early marriage in the military, a surprisingly “family‐friendly” institution. This shows that specific organizational and economic incentives in a working environment may offset the more widespread contemporary social and economic factors that otherwise depress marriage and fertility.     

The influence of acculturation level and family relationships on quality of life among U.S. Chinese older adults

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the influence of acculturation level and family relationships (i.e., positive family support and negative family strain) on quality of life (QOL), using the data from the Population Study of ChINese Elderly (PINE) in Chicago (N = 3159). Controlling for sociodemographic variables and health status, it was found that individuals’ acculturation level and positive family support were positively related to QOL, whereas negative family strain was negatively associated with QOL. More importantly, higher acculturation levels were associated with increased protective effects of positive family support and reduced risk effects of negative family strain on QOL among U.S. Chinese older adults.     

Public diplomacy meets social media: A study of the U.S. Embassy's blogs and micro-blogs

With the evolution of communication technologies, traditional public diplomacy is transforming. This study examines the practice of the U.S. Embassy's public diplomatic communication via social media, namely Chinese mainstream blogging and micro-blogging, sites using Tencent for a case study. This study analyzes the embassy's blog and micro-blog entries and an interview with the embassy's public diplomacy officer. Based on the content analysis and interview, this study discerns the key features of the U.S. Embassy's public diplomatic communication using social media and further suggests that the common values and interests related to the global public as well as experience-sharing and relationship-building might become the focus of new public diplomacy research.     

On U.S. Foreign Policy in the Balkans in the 1990s: Spotlight on Croatia

In the 1990s, despite a change of administrations, U.S. policy towards the Balkans remained consistent. Post-Gulf War, the United States urged Europe to take the lead, but ultimately humanitarian considerations forced the United States to take an active, military role. Within the U.S. government, a struggle between ``incrementalism' and a longer-term ``visionary approach' characterized internal debate. Incrementalism ultimately prevailed. The framework for U.S. policy decisions, especially in the early 1990s, led the United States to active involvement, including a lack of consensus in the United Nations on the use of force. Events, culminating in the ``Washington Agreement', led Croatia to seeing that its interests coincided with those of Bosnian Croats and Muslims. Only later did Croatian and U.S. interests diverge. Since Dayton, U.S. focus in Croatia has been on democratization, human rights, and the implementation of the accords. As U.S. Balkan policy evolved, seeing a stable European future for the region became a fundamental security interest of the United States. The Balkan Wars contributed significantly to changing perceptions of the transatlantic relationship and of the U.S. global role.     

Understanding the dominant discourse of colonialism: A qualitative,single case study of an eighth-grade U.S. History classroom

The purpose of this qualitative, single case study is to investigate how teacher-created curricula addresses key Native American events in early U.S. history and to determine if such curricula provided students with accurate representations of Native American content. To do this, we used discourse analysis to consider the meanings of words and phrases, as well as the underlying assumptions and intentions of the teacher-created curricula and the experiences it claims to represent. Given the presence and use of dominant narratives to preserve power systems, curricula that deconstructs the colonizing narrative and historical representation of Native Americans can encourage the active destruction of such narratives. By analyzing four teacher-created narratives, we found is that even when a teacher creates content with the intent to be more historically accurate, the curricula still reflects a dominant narrative that privileges White settlers over Native Americans. We then provide suggestions for teachers who wish to design more culturally relevant and appropriate curricula on Native American content.     

Geographically-related outcomes of U.S. funding for small business research and development: Results of the research grant programs of a component of the National Institutes of Health

This article examines the geographic distribution of funding for the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Despite a significant investment in SBIR/STTR and an interest in increasing geographic diversity in the institute’s research portfolio, there has not been an assessment of the distribution of NIGMS’s SBIR/STTR funding, outcomes associated with that investment, and relationships between the two. The geographic distribution of NIGMS’ SBIR/STTR funding was highly concentrated in a small number of states, with a high correlation between each state’s funding and its number of small scientific research and development businesses. Affiliation with a major research university was correlated with several measures of innovation and firm success. Our findings are consistent with earlier research showing that economic activity in research and development and research output tend to cluster in geographic regions where knowledge can be generated and shared more efficiently. These findings lend support to an investment strategy for small business research and development that creates networks between major research universities and small businesses.     

Generational Differences in Accounts of the Development of U.S. Cultural Sociology—Let Me Count the Ways: Response to Lizardo’s and Mische’s Comments

This essay provides a response to comments offered by Omar Lizardo (2011) and Ann Mische (2011) with reference to my piece “How Has Bourdieu Been Good to Think With? The Case of the United States” ( Lamont, 2011 ). All essays appear in this issue.     

The role of market-oriented relations in public relations: The differing perspectives of managers and practitioners in the U.S. and Taiwan

This study explored the role of market-oriented public relations. The study involved two surveys; one explored the perspectives of business managers and another of the perspectives of public relations practitioners, and compared their views concerning market-oriented and non-market-oriented relations. While business managers and public relations practitioners of non-market-oriented relations valued the contribution of market-oriented public relations to organizational effectiveness in terms of revenue generation and cost reduction, practitioners of market-oriented public relations ascribed their contribution to organizational effectiveness in terms of media publicity and exposure. This paper concludes with a discussion of practical applications and theoretical implications.     

Uneven Development and Local Inequality in the U.S. South: The Role of Outside Investment,Landed Elites,and Racial Dynamics

This paper develops a historically contingent understanding of patterns of uneven economic development in the U.S. South. We conceptualize spatial variation in economic development and its consequences for inequality to be embedded in both local and international dynamics. The character of local economic development, it is argued, reflects the organizational base and heterogeneity of local elites, the divisions and relative power of nonelites, and the embeddedness of the local political economy in national and world systems of politics and production. These ideas are developed and made historically and spatially specific through an analysis of uneven development in one Southern state, North Carolina. Our findings suggest that contemporary patterns of uneven development and the resulting income deprivations and inequality reflect conditional interactions between elite economic projects and racial divisions within the working class. We find that outside investment seems to reproduce rather than disrupt local patterns of inequality and poverty.