How to Do Things with Prayer Utterances

While the social scientific study of prayer is growing, little work has investigated prayer utterances—or statements where social actors say the term “prayer” or various cognates—in everyday talk. Drawing on insights from ordinary language philosophy, I argue that prayer utterances are performative utterances that help social actors accomplish a variety of actions in social interactions. To illustrate the performative nature of prayer utterances, I describe three types of actions that prayer utterances can accomplish: (1) aligning potentially problematic or questionable conduct with cultural expectations, (2) signaling to others an intense yearning for an object or occurrence on the behalf of oneself or others, and (3) signaling to others authentic feelings of care for another person or group of people. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of the analysis.     

Undercover Drug-Use Evasion Tactics: Excuses and Neutralization

Although research has examined the corruptive influences of undercover drug operations on agents (Girodo 1991 b; Manning and Reddlinger 1977, 1978), it has not examined the processes by which these influences can be neutralized. In this paper, I address these neutralization processes through a typology of routine and non-routine drug-use evasion tactics. Routine tactics involve excuses based on greed, business constraints, and role obligations (occupational, legal, and interpersonal). Nonroutine tactics involve two components: reverse accusation and simulation. Discussion focuses on excuses where I provide a dramaturgical interpretation that accentuates their deceptive and fraudulent nature, unlike traditional interpretations (e.g., Scott and Lyman 1968) which highlight their role as a reparative technique and aligning action (Margolin 1990). Data were drawn from ethnographic interviews with 35 light undercover narcotics agents located in a moderate-sized midwestern municipality.     

Picturing a green virtual public space for social change: a study of Internet activism and Web-based environmental collective actions in China

While increased attention has been paid to the rise of Chinese environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), the role that new information and communication technologies (ICTs) play in these ENGOs' collective actions has rarely been investigated. Based on first-hand information gained from field research with 19 environmental NGOs in Beijing, the author identified 18 Internet-based environmental collective actions and illustrated the specific conditions under which Chinese ENGOs employ the Internet to engage in these actions. Specifically, this study developed an analytical typology of ICT for the environmental movement to examine the extent to which and conditions under which Chinese ENGOs employ ICTs, especially the Internet, for chances of mobilization and social change. From six groups of thematically classified cases, the study also uniquely compared how various web conditions combine with and mediate various structural dimensions of the campaigns to achieve a certain level of social change.     

Confronting Gender Discrimination in the Mexican Workplace

Abstract

This article focuses on the issue of gender discrimination in Mexico, in light of NAFTA since passed in 1993. A model of transnational contention from social movement theories is modified and used to analyze the integration of actions by Mexican, US and Canadian women's and labor group's actions, as they fight for Mexican pregnant workers' rights. Data from interviews with labor leaders, female legislators, political parties and feminist NGOs in Mexico and tri-national government documents are processed in a typology of transnational contention, revealing a high degree of integrated transnational and domestic efforts-which I argue is the basis for a growing women's labor movement in the region.     

Deviance and Definitional Processes: a Conceptual and Empirical Analysis*

The failure of the labeling perspective to account for informal reaction processes is noted. Viewing informal labeling in terms of emergence and the documentary method, definitional processes are divided into two categories: (1) intra-situational definitions concerning the practical problems of negotiating an inter-actional encounter, and (2) trans-situational definitions in which the actor is evaluated in terms of cultural knowledge and prior experience. A repeated measures experimental study is discussed which indicates that intra-situational and trans-situational definitions are differentially responsive to variations over time in the typicality of an actor's behavior. Implications for the concept of “aligning actions” are discussed.     

Understanding Mexican NGOs: Goals,Strategies, and the Local Context

Research on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) largely focuses on the actions taken towards contributing to social change in communities and has characterized them into a typology of resisters or cooperators. Using extensive qualitative data, I use this case study to illustrate that NGOs use multiple repertoires of strategies that range from low to high risk. In this article, I show how and why NGO leaders in Monterrey, Mexico, choose their strategies based on their interpretation of the local sociopolitical environment and their assessment of how politically challenging a goal is within that context. By setting aside the dichotomy of NGOs as cooperators or resisters, I demonstrate the connection between strategies, goals, and the local sociopolitical context that is largely missing in our theorizing of NGOs (and other forms of collective action). These findings have implications for understanding how NGOs, as social actors, participate in an increasingly complex and interconnected global space.     

An empirically derived typology of mentally ill group home residents.

The classification of clients in terms of psychiatric diagnosis or level of functioning is a logical prerequisite to the conduct of quality of care assessments in mental health care. This article reports on efforts to create a typology of mentally ill group home residents based on a variety of measures of functioning. Subjects for the study come from a probability sample of 253 group home residents in Michigan. A three group typology, derived through cluster analytic procedures, is presented along with-evidence supporting its validity. Implications of the typology for program evaluators and service system planners are briefly addressed.     

Mapping the non-profit sector in the United States: implications for research

The need for a national typology of the US non-profit sector has long been recognised. A typology which could better define and describe the variety and diversity of non-profit organisations by type or major function will serve numerous research and public policy uses. This article describes the essential elements of the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE), developed over almost a decade after extensive consultation with agencies in the non-profit sector and the United States government. The article reports an initial analysis of the classification of nearly one million non-profit organisations in the US, and comparisons are made with earlier estimates inDimensions of the Independent Sector. Based on these findings, changes are proposed to this biennial statistical profile of the US non-profit sector. The importance of developing national typologies of non-profit organisations is discussed as a basis for comparative international research.     

Tanks, Tear Gas, and Taxes: Toward a Theory of Movement Repression

Despite the importance of research on repression to the study of social movements, few researchers have focused on developing a refined and powerful conceptualization of repression. To address the difficulties such theoretical inattention produces, three key dimensions of repression are outlined and crossed to produce a repression typology. The merit of this typology for researchers is shown by using the typology to: (1) reorganize major research findings on repression; (2) diagnose theoretical and empirical oversights and missteps in the study of repression; and (3) develop new hypotheses about explanatory factors related to repression and relationships between different forms of repression. Such a typology represents an important step toward creating richer theoretical explanations of repression.     

USING AN INTEGRATED TYPOLOGY OF DEVIANCE TO ANALYZE TEN COMMON NORMS OF THE U.S. MIDDLE CLASS

In a recent article we presented an integrated typology in which we categorized deviance based on both norms and evaluations. Cross-classifying normative expectations and societal evaluations identifies four types of deviance. Negative deviance implies negatively evaluated underconformity (or nonconformity); rate busting depicts negatively appraised overconformity; deviance admiration designates positively reacted to underconformity (or nonconformity); and positive deviance signifies positively sanctioned overconformity. To assess the efficacy of this typology in relation to a system of norms, ten middle-class norms—previously defined as the predominant ones in the United States by Tittle and Paternoster (2000)—were evaluated in relation to our integrated typology. Those norms are: loyalty, privacy, prudence, conventionality, responsibility, participation, moderation, honesty, peacefulness, and courtesy. Each potentiality is identified; for example, regarding the norm of loyalty, apostasy is the negative deviance form (negative deviance has already been outlined in relation to all ten norms); rebellion is the deviance admiration type; fanaticism is the rate busting scenario; and altruism is the positive deviance kind.     

Relationship Violence Among Couples Seeking Therapy: Common Couple Violence or Battering?

Relationship violence is highly prevalent among couples seeking therapy (Ehrensaft and Vivian, 1996; Jouriles and O'Leary, 1985), yet few couple therapists regularly assess for violence (Dimidjian, Berns, and Jacobson, 1999), and there is limited research on the type of violence most characteristic of couples in this population. The current study uses latent class analysis to examine types of violence in a sample of 273 therapy-seeking couples. The results support a three-class typology, with the groups labeled no violence, low-level violence, and moderate-to-severe violence. Comparisons between the classes support hypothesized differences between groups in degree of marital satisfaction and difficulties in communication, providing further validation of the typology among couples seeking treatment. Clinical and research implications are discussed.     

Typologies of Child Protection Systems: An International Approach

In recent decades, typologies have been developed to better understand the way in which different countries create systems to protect the interests of vulnerable children and their families. A child protection system typology is a classification of a set of characteristics that capture and define different approaches to child protection. Typologies are helpful in enabling comparisons of systems across international contexts, helping also to illuminate the various strengths and weaknesses of child protection systems. Typologies can also guide or redirect the development of a system, as they illustrate the varied ways in which children might be better protected. They explain how a cultural value base underpins approaches to child protection and can suggest alternative ways in which a system might evolve, based on the experiences of other countries. This article builds upon early typology building work and presents an international child protection system typology that has universal application. Country examples are used to illustrate the development of systems across two dimensions: whether they are oriented towards an individual or community focus; and whether systems are more, or less, regulated.     

Some Further Results on the Manipulability of Social Choice Rules

A typology of electoral environments in which strategic manipulation of voting rules can occur is proposed. From this typology, six different concepts of equilibria (or quasi-equilibria) are defined, including the usual ones. Then, focusing on three alternative elections, we derive some analytical representations for the vulnerability of a large number of voting rules to strategic manipulation by considering successively each type of equilibrium. Our results show that the hierarchy of the rules changes when the voting framework is modified. However, some rules are clearly dominated and some others (among which the Borda and the Nanson rules) appear to be uniquely the best in some specific contexts.     

Problem attribution and intervention. The interpretation of problem causations and solutions in regard of Brickman et al.

Typologies of problem perception are of great importance for the reconstruction of social workers’ professional ideologies. The best-known typology has been provided by Brickman et al. who differentiated between a medical, moral, enlightenment, and compensatory model. The article discusses this typology on a conceptual level and indicates its central flaws. An empirical study is presented in which an alternative attempt to develop a typology is tested. The evaluation refers to a wider spectrum of perceptions of problem causes and solutions than the typology of Brickman et al. The resulting typology comprises a ‘social’, a ‘workfare’, a ‘pathology’, and an ‘education’ type.     

Buzzes and barriers: young people's attitudes to participation in the arts

SUMMARY: This article draws on evidence collected through interviews with 700 young people between the ages of 14 and 24 in five different regions of England. Material from this source is used to construct a tentative typology of attitudes towards participation in the arts. This typology contains a set of twelve positive attitudes (or motivations) associated with arts involvement, followed by a set of eight negative attitudes which emerge as barriers to participation. In addition, an attempt is made to identify those positive attitudes which most frequently appeared to accompany high levels of involvement in the arts. It is suggested that a self-identity or self-expression motive (‘I participate in the arts because it's how I define myself, it's a means of self-expression’) and a physiological motive (‘I participate in the arts because of feeling a real buzz’) are particularly evident among arts enthusiasts.     

Male Responsibility in Sexual Activity and Family Planning: Perspectives of a College Mental Health Professional

Abstract

Social movements of the previous two decades have forced a reevaluation of the traditional male role in sexual activity and family planning. Men are now expected to be active, responsible participants in decisions and actions concerning contraception, child care, pregnancy, partner satisfaction, and emotional bonding. While a number of rational “shoulds” have been advanced as guidelines for healthy, responsible male functioning, the actual behavior exercised is often a function of more irrational or conflicted motivations. The focus of this paper is an examination of motivations underlying maladaptive decisions by college males in the areas of sexual intercourse, contraception, and partner pleasure. The motivations involved in decisions to engage in sexual intercourse are classified and discussed along interpersonal and intrapersonal dimensions. The motivations involved in the use or nonuse of contraceptives are classified and discussed through use of Horney's interpersonal nomenclature. The motivations involved in the failure to give pleasure to one's partner are classified and discussed through use of sexual character types adapted by the author from Millon's personality typology. A societal influence on male lovemaking is also addressed. Concluding remarks address the difficulty of precisely defining male responsibility in sexual activity and family planning.     

Children's Influence on Internet Access at Home: Adoption and use in the family context

In this study, an integrated quantitative and qualitative research design was employed. From over 900 telephone interviews a typology of family types based on possession of media appliances was constructed, then divided into 'traditional' (low media density), 'intermediate' (average media density) and 'multimedia' (high media density) families. This typology was then used as a basis for selecting thirty-eight families for in-depth interviews. Of these, thirty-one contained children and it is these that form the basis for this article. The results of the family interviews indicate that children are a very important factor in the acquisition and use of the Internet. It was apparent from our interviews that Internet access and use become major issues in family discussions and conflicts - both between parents and children and between siblings.     

Capturing Complexity: An Empirical Typology of Nonagentic Sexual Interactions

ABSTRACT

Using cluster analysis and a data set of 227 sexual incidents experienced by college women as unwilled, we articulate and assess the validity of an empirically derived, multivariate typology of “nonagentic sexual interactions.” Five homogeneous clusters, or types, are identified based on four characteristics of the events (physical intrusiveness, force, relationship closeness, and women's alcohol use): (1) Sober Intimate Intrusion; (2) Sober Acquaintance Intrusion; (3) Forced Intrusion; (4) Touch; and (5) Alcohol Impaired Intrusion. Analyses demonstrate the clusters to be significantly associated with contextual and psychological consequence variables, providing validation for the derived typology. Findings indicate that a multidimensional typology of nonagentic sexual interactions shows promise for investigating the implications of these events for women's well-being and sexuality development.     

Striking Differences: Hunger Strikes in Israel and the USA

Despite longstanding traditions of tolerance, inclusion, and democracy in the USA, dissident citizens and social movements have experienced significant and sustained – although often subtle and difficult-to-observe – repression. Using mechanism-based social movement theory, I explore a range of twentieth-century episodes of contention, involving such groups as mid-century communists, the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement, and the modern-day Global Justice Movement. Cracking open the black box of state repression, I demonstrate how four interactive social mechanisms – Resource Depletion, Stigmatization, Divisive Disruption, and Intimidation – animate state repression. A fifth mechanism – Emulation – diffuses the effects of these four Mechanisms of Repression. First I delineate a typology of state actions that suppress dissent. Then I shift analytically from these ten actions to the Mechanisms of Repression, explaining how these mechanisms work. Drawing on scholarship from an array of fields, and pulling data from a variety of sources, I explain how the state has engaged in activity that – operating through social mechanisms – inhibits collective action, either through raising the costs or minimizing the benefits of mobilization.