The sociology of Catholicism: A review of research and scholarship

This article seeks to review recent research and scholarship in the sociology of Catholicism, as well as focusing on areas needing greater attention. In taking stock of this literature, I identify institutional change, church-society interactions, institutional resources and influence, and the church as international actor as four key topics that have engaged scholarship. I review existing research under each, as well as highlighting gaps and blind spots that invite further inquiry of this specific religious group.     

The Long‐term Unemployed: A New Protected Class of Employee?

Since the onset of the latest United States (U.S.) recession (beginning in December 2007), the U.S. economy has been posting high unemployment levels consistently exceeding 8 percent. Of specific interest, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), reports on a specific subset of the U.S. unemployed: the long‐term unemployed, defined as those who are unemployed for 27 weeks and over. Since December 2009, the share of the long‐term unemployed of the total U.S. unemployed has exceeded 40 percent (through April 2012), the highest level since 1948 when data was first collected. A phenomenon of this recession is an alleged public bias by American private sector employers against hiring the long‐term unemployed, or even simply those unemployed. While the authors support the removal of discrimination against the unemployed in job advertisements, they cannot support the larger notion of including those who are unemployed as a protected class of employees. Becoming or being unemployed is a state that one can change, and based on the lack of research on how widespread this discrimination is (beyond anecdotal stories or limited research surveys), they believe that extending protection under equal employment opportunity legislation would be overreaching and inappropriate at this time.     

College Women’s Plans for Different Types of Egalitarian Marriages

This study examined college women’s plans for egalitarian marriages. One hundred and forty‐four heterosexual undergraduate women completed surveys about their preferences for different life scenarios and their attitudes about work and family life. The pattern of their preferences showed a distinction between home‐centered, balanced, and job‐centered egalitarian families. Regressions showed that gender ideology, ideas about parenting and motherhood, career orientation, and family dynamics were associated differentially with the three types of egalitarian families, which reflected the different values that underlay the pursuit of each. The results also cast doubt on whether outsourcing is truly an egalitarian path. Outsourcing domestic labor may simply be a means for women to pursue careers without achieving real equality in families.     

HIV seroprevalence and clinical characteristics of severe inpatient mentally Ill homeless

Two related studies were carried out at a state psychiatric center unit designed for the long-term hospitalization of homeless mentally ill people removed from the streets of New York City and taken to hospitals for psychiatric treatment. The first study, a chart review of 102 patients, documented high rates of severe psychiatric illness, alcohol and other substance use, and untreated medical problems. Patient histories showed significant social disadvantages, including high rates of criminal activity and inability to complete high school or establish long-term relationships. Our second study anonymously tested 87 patients between the ages of 18 and 59 for the presence of HIV antibodies. An overall seroprevalence rate of 5.8% is reported. Men and women in this population are likely to have similar rates of HIV infection. Being young, and Black, or Hispanic appears to be associated with increased risk. This disenfranchised population urgently needs a broad array of social, medical, and psychiatric services. Assertive community outreach programs are necessary to assure delivery of services to this population.     

Torrential Tears: The Relationship Between Memory Development, Early Trauma, and Dysfunctional Behavior

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how findings in memory research can significantly inform our understanding of dysfunctional behavior. It will demonstrate that specific forms of memory, which are expressed through procedures or behaviors, reveal through their presentation information of diagnostic significance. From a neuropsychosocial perspective, this article suggests that the time at which early trauma intersects with the development of memory structures, systems and functions can be significant to the motivation of dysfunctional behavior.     

A Cautionary Note on Data Inputs and Visual Outputs in Social Network Analysis

Innovations in network visualization software over the last decade or so have been important to the popularization of social network analysis (SNA) among academics, consultants and managers. Indeed, there is a growing literature that seeks to demonstrate how ‘invisible social networks’ might be revealed and leveraged for ‘visible results’ through management interventions. However, the seductive power of the network graphic has distracted attention away from a variety of emerging and long recognized concerns in SNA. For example, weaknesses exist in data collection techniques that often rely on nominal boundary‐setting and respondent recall. Non‐response can also be highly problematic. Increasingly, email data are being employed, yet this represents a poor proxy for relationships and raises issues of privacy. In displaying relational data, visualizations typically reify and ossify the network. Yet, individual perceptions of a network can vary greatly from unified visualizations, and their structure is typically fleeting. The aim of this paper is to draw together the diffuse literature concerning data input and visual output issues in SNA, in order to raise awareness among management researchers and practitioners. In doing so, the nature and impact of such weaknesses are discussed, as are ways in which these might be resolved or mitigated.     

EMDR、适应性信息加工与个案概念化(上)

EMDR是一个整合性的、以咨客为中心的心理治疗方法,它着重于大脑的信息加工系统、烦扰经历的记忆,这些病理学基础不是由器质性的损伤导致的。EMDR强调对临床情境有作用的经历,和那些需要带领咨客达到更健康的心理状态的经历。EMDR作为以经验为主的支持治疗,本文综述其历史、发展和研究,在阐述适应性信息加工模型之后,用一个延续的个案实例来说明了EMDR的个案概念化和8个阶段的治疗。这个方法用于加工那些建立病理学基础的和触发当前功能失调的早期记忆,并为将来恰当的行为提供模板,包括克服技能和(或)发展性的不足所需的知识与行为。整合的EMDR与家庭系统观点的好处是可以提供最综合的治疗效果。     

The Contours and Sources of Ethnic Identity Choices Among Asian Americans*

Objective. How do individuals of Asian descent in the United States identify themselves in ethnic terms and why? The purpose of this research is to map the contours of ethnic self‐identities among Asian adults and explain their identity preferences in this immigrant community of color. Methods. We analyze a new and large‐scale survey that collected public opinion from randomly selected individuals of the six largest Asian American descents who resided in five major metropolitan areas in 2000–2001. Results. We find that two‐thirds of the respondents prefer to identify themselves in ethnic‐specific modes. Although only one in six respondents preferred to identify themselves as “Asian American,” close to six in ten respondents indicated acceptance to this panethnic term as part of their identification. Using multinomial regression analysis, we show that indicators of primordial ties and prior socialization, in addition to cultural, social, and political integration, are instrumental in structuring ethnic identity preferences among Asian Americans. Conclusions. Our results confirm ethnic identity as a fluid, malleable, and layered phenomenon that depends on context. Our findings also highlight the need for reconsideration and expansion of the extant conceptual frameworks on studying ethnic identity formation for a nonwhite, multiethnic, multilingual, and globally connected population.