Southern Political Exceptionalism? Presidential Voting in the South and Non‐South*

Objective. This study develops and tests a model of political regionalism that posits that if regions are politically exceptional, then individuals sharing the same profile but living in these different regions will have divergent presidential voting patterns ( King, 1996 ). Methods. Analyzing presidential voting behavior from 1952 to 2004, I use logistic regression techniques to test a regional model of homogeneity (southern exceptionalism) versus a unit model of homogeneity (South and Non‐South are statistically similar). Results. The findings show that the South's presidential voting patterns are exceptional in the 1950s and during the civil rights era but, starting in the Reagan era, southern exceptionalism waned. These findings also show that the South is converging with the non‐South (northernization) relative to the influences of race, family income, union membership, in‐migrants, and gender, and the non‐South is converging with the South (southernization) relative to the influences of education, blue‐collar workers, and age. Conclusions. Both economic class and race variables contribute to the demise of regional exceptionalism; however, race plays a more persistent role. Given the process of “southernization” and the instability of the predictors of presidential voting for the South over time, I conclude that the study of the South as a region should continue until the process of change subsides and a new equilibrium is found.     

Is “Generic Utility Theory” a Suitable Theory of Choice Behavior for Gambles with Mixed Gains and Losses?

Miyamoto's (1988, 1992) generic utility theory (GUT) subsumes a broad class of bilinear utility models. Chechile and Cooke (1997) tested the GUT class of models and found model failure due to the systematic variation of a parameter that should be a positive constant across a range of contexts. In the current study, an improved experimental design is employed to evaluate utility theory. The current study provides further evidence against the GUT class of models for mixed gambles. Moreover, evidence is also provided to demonstrate individual behavior that is incompatible with a coherent bilinear utility theory of choice behavior in the context of mixed gambles with gains and losses.     

Not a Solution at All? Communities and Social Policy

Bryson and Mowbray wrote about the uncritical use of the term community by governments in 1981 and ways in which ‘evidence‐based policy’ in relation to communities became little more than a ‘catchphrase’ in 2005. Both articles appeared in the Australian Journal of Social Issues. This paper reports research that utilised qualitative methods to gather data on subjective, practical meanings of community in one local government area of South Australia to assess the goodness of fit with the language of community contained in social policy. It is argued that in 2009, community, as it is applied by social policy makers, has little resonance with the large body of research around this topic or the current situation of individuals and families and this results in a poor match between the intentions and outcomes of social policies aimed at communities.     

Bias at the Ballot Box? Testing Whether Candidates' Gender Affects Their Vote*

Objective. This study examines whether women's electoral fortunes in Australia have improved in line with changing social norms over the past century. We use new strategies to explore whether female candidates face discrimination by the voting public, or by political parties' preselection systems. Methods. Using data from all elections to the House of Representatives between 1903 and 2004, we examine the relationship between candidates' gender and their share of the vote. We consider the electoral performances of female independent candidates, female incumbents, and female candidates from the Australian Labor Party (after 2001) in order to determine whether the bias against female candidates is driven by voters or preselectors. We also make use of gender pay gap and attitudinal data to examine how the ballot box penalty has shifted in line with changing social norms. Results. We find that the vote share of female candidates is 0.6 percentage points smaller than that of male candidates (for major parties, the gap widens to 1.5 percentage points), but find little evidence that the party preselection system is responsible for the voting bias against women. Over time, the gap between male and female candidates has shrunk considerably as a result of changes in social norms (as proxied by the gender pay gap and attitudinal data) and the share of female candidates running nationwide. Conclusions. A statistically significant gender penalty has been a consistent feature of Australian federal elections since 1903. The penalty against female candidates has narrowed since the 1980s, and this bias lies with the voting public rather than with the political parties themselves. We find little evidence that party‐based affirmative action policies have reduced the gender penalty against female candidates.     

Does Campus Diversity Promote Friendship Diversity? A Look at Interracial Friendships in College*

Objectives. One of the hopes of having diverse campus environments is that the daily interaction with students from different backgrounds will promote interracial understanding and friendship. However, it is not clear to what extent interactions and friendships are multiracial. This article examines the impact of college characteristics, social distance felt toward other groups, and precollege friendship diversity on the formation of interracial friendships in the first year of college. Methods. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, I examine how college characteristics, social distance felt toward other groups, and precollege friendship diversity affects the formation of interracial friendships in the first year of college. Results. The results show that while precollege experiences and initial attitudes do have an impact on the formation of interracial friendship in college, campus racial/ethnic diversity is also important in predicting friendship heterogeneity. Minorities have higher predicted friendship diversity than whites, but this difference nearly disappears in the most diverse schools due to the interactive effects of school diversity on friendship diversity for white students. Conclusions. This research provides evidence of the social benefits of assembling a diverse student body, particularly for white students, and can add to the debate over the continuation of affirmative action policies.     

Playing,Sitting Out,and Observing the Game: An Investigation of Faculty Members’ Perspectives on Political Behavior in Ethical Decision Making

Ethical dilemmas are inherently ambiguous, complex, and ill-defined. Additionally, these dilemmas involve multiple stakeholders. These characteristics may induce political behavior as a resolution tactic. Thus, the goal of the present effort was to investigate perspectives on politics among researchers in an ethical decision-making context. A qualitative analysis of interviews with university faculty members revealed that faculty members’ perspectives on political behavior in an ethical decision-making context fall into a number of categories, including positive, negative, and realistic views of political activity. The implications of these varying perspectives on ethical decision making are discussed.     

Seeking salvation: moral economies and management at the Morozov mills, 1885–1905*

Moscow’s most famous textile dynasty, the Old Believer Morozovs, pioneered not only new technology, but also ways of managing their peasant-workers. This article focuses on the distinctive approaches of the two rival families who owned neighbouring factories: the Savva Morozov Company and the Vikula Morozov Company. In these factories the Morozov families desired to create a ‘moral community’ using the spiritual discipline of the Old Believer faith to bond workers and management to productive goals. But their peasant-workers also brought to the factories their own ‘moral economy’ assumptions about the duties and obligations of worker and master. The article visits three sites where the developing management practices of these two competing factories are expressed: clan rivalry and mentalities; labour–management conflict; and the battle between bureaucracy and factory over contested taxes. The identities of the rival families – one pious and private, the other publicly political – symbolize their different approaches. Nevertheless, it is their conflicts with labour and the tsarist bureaucracy which most vividly illustrate the significant role of moral economies in management practice. Moral economies and the Old Believer experience of the Morozovs provide keys to understanding the ‘special worlds’ of their factories and the relationships between management, labour and bureaucracy.Our salvation is in work.     

Who Uses Alternative Financial Services? A Latent Class Analysis of Consumer Financial Knowledge and Behavior

ABSTRACT

We examine the heterogeneity of alternative financial services (AFS) use by constructing an empirically rigorous typology of financial knowledge and behaviors. Using the 2012 National Financial Capability Study, we conducted latent class analysis of financial knowledge and behaviors to identify latent classes of AFS users (N = 25,509). The proportion of the distal outcome of AFS was investigated among latent classes. The latent classes in the best fitting model were regressed on demographic variables and selected covariates using multinomial logistic regression. Results indicate that five meaningful subgroups were found. Over half of the U.S. population struggles to establish and maintain savings and position themselves for future financial security and mobility (i.e., financially precarious (25.9%), financially striving (20.5%), and financially at-risk (18.4%) classes). The financially thriving class (27.7%) has the healthiest financial behaviors and the least probability of using AFS. The financially stable (7.4%) and financially at-risk (18.4%) classes have the highest probability of using AFS. Widespread use of AFS suggests a general consumer demand for the products and services. Future research is needed to inform policy and practice efforts to shape the formal financial system to meet the long-term financial needs of the majority of consumers.     

The Diversification of Children’s Support for Their Parents in the Context of an Aging Society: Concepts and Behavior*

China’s aging society and the family-based model of basic aged care determine that children’s support for their parents directly affects the standard of living of the majority of the aging population. Existing theories indicate that in this era of social transition, the implications of filial piety have shifted from the traditional emphasis on the parent-child generational relationship and children’s duty to obey their parents to a dual mode in which family love coexists with the authority of the elders. Using data from the Chinese General Social Survey of 2006, we explore the ways in which the two basic dimensions of authoritarian filial piety and reciprocal filial piety connect with various types of filial behavior. The results of our multivariate linear model show that on average, authoritarian filial piety, which emphasizes authority relationships and children’s duty, increases children’s financial support for their parents, while reciprocal filial piety, stressing family love and generational equality, significantly increases children’s emotional support for their parents. A comparison of the basic dimensions of filial piety shows that neither significantly increases children’s physical support for their parents. Further analysis of the interaction effect indicates that the link between authoritarian filial piety and financial support is more significant among younger groups. In addition, for males, a marginally significant positive relation exists between authoritarian filial piety and physical support for their parents.     

Do Parenting and Family Characteristics Moderate the Relation between Peer Victimization and Antisocial Behavior? A 5‐year Longitudinal Study

Past research has demonstrated that relationships with peers and parents play salient roles in various child outcomes. However, little research has examined the confluence of these two factors in the context of peer victimization. In particular, little is known about which family and parental factors mitigate or intensify the impact of adverse peer relations. The current study bridged this gap by testing whether maternal support and family conflict moderated the association between peer victimization and antisocial behavior. Moderation effects were found for girls but not boys. Cross‐lagged path analyses of nationally representative longitudinal data (N = 1046; 53 percent boys; Time 1: M_age = 10.7) showed that, among girls, higher levels of maternal warmth and mother–child communication significantly attenuated the link between early peer victimization and later antisocial outcomes. By contrast, greater family conflict significantly increased antisocial outcomes among girls who experienced peer victimization. For boys, early peer victimization significantly predicted antisocial outcomes, regardless of parenting and family factors. All findings remained significant even after controlling for preexisting antisocial tendencies and demographic factors, as well as for the stability of victimization in the model.