Do couples share income? Variation in the organisation of income in dual‐earner households

This paper examines the organisation of income of cohabiting and married dual‐income couples. This topic has gained significance as women increase their participation in the labour force, and increasingly bring additional money into the household. Given the increase in cohabitation, researchers have proposed that financial arrangements may differ according to relationship type. We model the effect of relationship type and previous relationship experience using data from a nationally‐representative survey from Australia. The effect of other factors related to the individual and household, such as length of relationship, educational background, home ownership and presence of children, is also explored. We find income organisation varies by whether the person is legally married or cohabiting, which we attribute to the institution of marriage.     

More than self-interest: Why different classes have different attitudes to income inequality

The connection between social class and political preferences is among the most well established in the social sciences. This association is typically taken as prima facie evidence of economic self-interest: Classes hold different attitudes, values, and party preferences because they have different economic interests. However, this assumption has rarely been tested empirically. In this article, we use survey data from 18 West European countries to examine why classes differ on a central aspect of political preferences, namely their views on the desirability of income inequality. We find that only a moderate proportion of differences between employee classes in support for redistribution can be accounted for by contemporary differences in resources and risks; differences in economic interests to some degree account for the anti-redistributive preferences of the professional middle classes compared with the working class. However, the preferences of the self-employed have a different explanation; autonomy is a better explanation of the right-wing preferences of the self-employed compared with the working class.     

Volunteers as resources in preparing foster adolescents for self-sufficiency

Volunteers can be extremely valuable resources in a variety of ways in independent-living programs. This article summarizes current usage in many programs nationwide; details specific roles for volunteers, and where weaknesses lie; and specifies recommendations for strong volunteer programming.     

Does the client have a gambling problem?

Representatives from 40 New York City social agencies were interviewed in order to determine the extent to which gambling is a problem among their clients. The findings indicate that (a) agency personnel rarely ask clients about gambling behavior either on intake or with continued agency contact; (b) rarely do clients spontaneously mention gambling as a problem; (c) problem gambling is usually brought to the attention of the agency by the wives of problem gamblers; and (d) gambling is a hidden family problem associated with marital discord and financial disarray. In order to have a better understanding of problem gambling and its vicissitudes it is recommended that agency personnel keep statistics on gambling and gambling related problems.This paper was revised after the untimely death of Leonard S. Kogan, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Social Research, The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York.     

Religiosity and alcohol behavior: An exploration of reference group theory

This study examines the relationship between religiosity and alcohol use and perceived misuse. Unlike most past research, we focus on adults rather than adolescents and distinguish among specific Protestant denominations. We also use a more appropriate statistical technique and place the findings in a theoretical context. The analysis shows that religiosity is clearly related to alcohol use, mainly because people's religion serves as a reference group influencing their behavior. The analysis also shows that religiosity is not related to perceived misuse of alcohol, mainly because societal norms are congruent with religious norms and, hence, appear to overwhelm any effect of religion.     

Aspects of maximum likelihood estimation of asymmetric growth curves

As an extension to the work of Oliver, the variance-covariance matrices for the powered logistic and Bass equations were obtained and used to show that the addition of a fourth parameter resulted in the estimates for the remaining three parameters corresponding to those of the simple logistic becoming more unreliable. The degree of confidence that could be placed on the estimated parameters of the powered logistic decreased with the degree of asymmetry. However, the Bass equation proved much more resilient to this problem. A Monte Carlo study shows that, in small samples and for data sets that resemble new technologies in the early stages of di usion, the maximum likelihood estimates do not have the desirable properties of estimates based on large samples.     

Westerns,Weddings and Web‐Weavers: Reading Gender as Genre in Organizational Theory

This article focuses on the process of reading and its role in the construction of knowledge. Reading is an activity which is personal yet never singular: we bring to our reading of one text a range of knowledges, experiences and strategies derived from other texts. This ‘intertextuality’ means that ‘meaning‐making’ is a complex negotiation process between reader and text, whereby linkages are made between divergent genres. This is explored through the author's own personal experiences of reading gender/organizational theory. These readings demonstrate the way in which ‘narratives’ of other genres, such as film and fiction, spill over, infect and manipulate the construction of narratives within organizational texts. Further, the ready intertextual connections which are made help to expose some of the embedded assumptions about gender. Whilst these are, in the main, quite traditional, the consideration of the processes involved in reading helps to challenge these as ‘truths’ as well as signpost possibilities for new forms of writing gender/organizational theory.