Nonprofit Advocacy Organizations: Their Characteristics and Activities*

Objectives. In this article we examine political advocacy by nonprofit organizations. Relatively little is known about the types of organizations that participate in advocacy, their characteristics, the issues for which they advocate, and the resources they devote to it. This is especially the case for nonprofits that operate at the state or local level. Methods. Using data from a large survey of Indiana nonprofit organizations, we use logistic and multinomial regression to determine which organizational characteristics relate to participation in varying levels of advocacy. Results. We find that the size of the organization, its access to information and communication technology, its charitable status, and, in some cases, the field of activity in which it operates all help predict nonprofit advocacy. The age of the organization, its reliance on government funding (except when substantial), and its proximity to the state's major economic and political center do not generally help differentiate nonprofits that advocate from those that do not. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that most nonprofits are ambivalent about advocacy. Some do no advocacy at all; many participate in some form of it although it does not constitute their primary purpose or mission; and only a small minority devotes considerable resources to it. However, these patterns differ systematically by type of nonprofit.     

Popularity as an Affordance for Friendship: The Link Between Group and Dyadic Experience*

The associations between measures of popularity (acceptance, rejection and preference) and friendship were examined in three independent samples of elementary and middle school children. Data were obtained by means of sociometric nomination and rating scale procedures. Results reveal that, regardless of measurement technique, acceptance is generally more strongly related to friendship than is either rejection or preference. The size of the association between popularity and friendship decreases with age. Mean comparisons show that popularity is a predictor and/or is temporally antecedent to friendship rather than vice-versa. These results indicate that the association between popularity and friendship derives from their conceptual dependence on the construct of liking.     

The Link Between Voter Choice and Religious Identity in Contemporary Society: Bringing Classical Theory Back In*

Objectives. In this article, we analyze voter choice data from six U.S. presidential elections for evidence of religious identity and sociodemographic effects on voter choice. Methods. Voter choice is analyzed over the period 1980 to 2000 with multivariate statistical models. Results. A link is found between voter choice and religious identity, where the effect of religious identity on voter choice is contingent on location within the stratification order defined by race, class, and gender. The article proposes a theory to explain the contingent link between voter choice and religious identity; the theory is derived from classical sociology. Conclusion. In the United States, political behavior related to religious identity is contingent on the individual's location within the stratification order.     

Expanding the Scope of Conflict: Interest Groups and Interstate Compacts*

This study looks at how the characteristics of states' interest group environments affect state participation in interstate compacts. Drawing on prominent theories of interest system characteristics, we hypothesize that interest group density and concentration will influence a state's propensity to join compacts. Method. Using pooled cross‐sectional time‐series event‐count models, we test our hypotheses for 48 states over a 30‐year period. Results. We find that states with denser interest group systems are more likely to join interstate compacts, but that greater concentration of organized interests in a few economic sectors impedes compact formation. Additional analyses show that the effects of state interest group systems vary across types of interest groups and compacts. In particular, the effects of interest group density appear to be driven primarily by not‐for‐profit groups generating increased state participation in noneconomic compacts. Conclusion. Interstate cooperation is influenced in important ways by characteristics of interest group environments.     

社会公正与社会学:二十一世纪的议程

二十一世纪的挑战 今天,我们正站在充满挑战性的新世纪的起点上.和历任前美国社会学协会的会长们一样,我深感这一职务所赋予我的光荣和责任,我觉得有义务阐述一下社会学及社会学家在21世纪的作用.     

Sex and the Statehouse: The Effects of Gender on Legislative Roll‐Call Voting*

Objective. This analysis examines whether differences exist between women and men state legislators in their roll‐call voting behavior involving matters of economic and regulatory policy. Methods. Using interest group rating scores, I examine the voting behavior of representatives in the lower houses of 28 states in legislative sessions from 1995 to 2000. By controlling for a host of variables related to legislators (political party, years of service, etc.) and their districts (average income, level of education, urbanization, etc.), I am able to isolate the independent effect of gender on roll‐call voting. Results. The findings demonstrate that among Democratic legislators women are less conservative than men, but among Republican lawmakers women are slightly more conservative than men. Additional analyses show that many factors that influence legislative voting by women and men are similar; however, political party has a more prominent effect among women. Conclusion. Although factors such as political party and some constituency characteristics exert a much stronger influence than gender, women and men legislators differ in their roll‐call voting even when controls for a wide assortment of individual‐ and district‐level conditions are taken into account.     

New Agendas for Social Policy and Criminology: Globalization, Urbanism and the EmergingPost-Social Security State

The subjects of social policy and criminology have long been concerned with the criminalization and regulation of the poor. The premise of this paper is that in recent years new forms of criminalization and regulation have emerged that various authors, from both disciplines, have begun to theorize. The paper aims to contribute to this growing literature by bringing together diverse themes that deserve to be extensively discussed in conjunction with one another. These are: first, globalization; second, the changing nature of the state; third, the reorganization of space and time, especially at the urban level. It proceeds through examinations of some of the recent work of Jock Young, David Garland, Ramesh Mishra, Peter Taylor-Gooby and Zygmunt Bauman. It concludes that theoretical and empirical research should analyse the reorganization of space and time which is being effected by the "post-social security state" and it is this which constitutes the new agenda for social policy and criminology.     

The Household Encyclopedia as Magic Kit: Medieval Popular Interest in Pranks and Illusions*

Each of us has wished at some time to send in three box tops andget a magic kit that contains itchingpowder to give to our enemies, instructions for tricks designed to baffle our friends, and potions to make us more desirable. Exactly so in the Middle Ages. Bruno Roy's delightful essay on medieval do-it-yourself magic reveals the strong popular interest in practical jokes, illusions and tricks. People in the Middle Ages were playful and high-spirited, waiting to entertain and be entertained. The transformative power implicit i n the tricks played by jugglers or entertainers appealed to all classes of society; these same jugglers not only dealt in illusory tricks but often used various chemicalpreparations, giving a “scientific” cast to their pranks. That so many of these tricks were related to the household in terms of the joke itself or the ingredients used suggests the widespread popularity of magic kits, a popularity that today perhaps resides only with the children who save the box tops.     

Institutional and District‐Level Sources of Competition in State Legislative Elections*

Objectives. What are the sources of partisan competition in state legislative elections? Specifically, what impact do institutional features have relative to district‐level conditions on competition between party nominees? Methods. Using data from 30 states in 1994 and 1996, a range of factors are examined to determine their influence on both the likelihood that a race is contested and the degree of competition that results. Results. Multiple regression analyses indicate that a district's characteristics, measured as social and partisan diversity, have a strong and durable influence on elections. Contested elections are more likely and competition levels are higher in districts with heterogeneous populations. Institutional characteristics such as legislative professionalism also have a large influence, although the direction of their impact varies by stage of the electoral process examined. For example, professionalism increases the likelihood that an election is contested, but leads to a lower level of competition between opposing candidates. Conclusions. District‐level conditions have a large influence on competition; however, incentives created by institutional features are also critical for understanding the competitiveness of state legislative elections.     

从英美国家保险利益原则的理论发展看我国立法之完善

英美保险法至保险利益原则确立以来,对其法理有着“法定关系理论”、“实际利益理论”、“存在合法关系的实际利益”这三大理论。而“法定关系理论”、“实际利益理论”并不能解决保险的应有目的,“存在合法关系的实际利益”理论更符合历史潮流。我国现有保险法在人身保险合同中采用的是“法定关系理论”,在财产保险合同中,保险法未明确规定,在实践中适用的是“法定关系理论”。从英美国家理论发展的现状及国情,我国保险法在人身保险合同中不应适用经济利益理论,在财产保险合同中,应适当运用经济利益理论。