NEW DOMAINS FOR STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

Can network thinking be extended to the broad range of social organization conventionally studies by sociologists? Applying structural thinking to American election data, it is possible to detect a social-economic hierarchy solely from the links among categories, without reference to external numerical indicators of rank. It is possible to detect and verify sensible and suggestive relative social positions for categories of income, education, gender, age, religion, race, party identification, and region – forming correlated hierarchies. The special contribution of the structural analysis is its simultaneous attention to detail and the overview of links, coupled with less dependence on a priori assumptions.     

当代书法的美丑之争

近年来,围绕书法作品“美”与“丑”的问题被书法界内外人士所热议,接连出现了诸如“当代丑书选集”“当代丑书、俗书人物榜单”等网络评选现象。“丑书”之争一方面将不少当代书法家置于聚光灯下,带来多方观点的碰撞;另一方面,这种争论的形成也反映出了中国书法在当今多元文化影响下的真实状态。在当前的文化环境下,“速食”艺术盛行,怀揣深厚传统的中国书法面临着极大的挑战。     

NEIGHBORHOOD DISORDER AND INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY CAPACITY: HOW INCIVILITIES INFORM THREE DOMAINS OF PSYCHOSOCIAL ASSESSMENT

This article examines contextual models to bring together the disorder and community capacity perspectives, since both are grounded in social (dis)organization theory and cumulative causation. We analyze how individual and neighborhood characteristics, social and physical disorder, and crime affect three individual community capacity outcomes: city quality of life, neighborhood safety, and household moving intentions. The “broken windows” downward spiral suggests that neighborhood incivilities may decrease multiple psychosocial assessments, or, individual community capacities. Consistent with prior research, we find that social and physical disorder decreases all three outcomes. Second, we find that both disorders also mediate neighborhood effects, including socioeconomic status and residential stability. Third, these direct and indirect disorder effects are not altered by prior victimization or neighborhood crime rates. Reducing disorder will, in turn, improve three distinct domains and geographic scales of individual community capacity, and can also reduce the adverse effects of other local area capacity deficits.