A mathematical model for resource allocation in population programs

The reduction of population growth rates through family planning programs is being attempted in many of the developing nations of the world. This activity lends itself aptly to mathematical modeling. Building from the well-known difference equation model of population growth, a model is constructed which integrates population dynamics, program activities, and resource consumption. The model may be used predictively to assess the outcome of various program activities. Alternatively, it may be used to determine the pattern of activities which yields the greatest reduction in births under the projected resource constraints. A further use of the model is the identification of the parameters to which predictions are most sensitive; such information provides valuable insights to those gathering the input data. The model is here applied to a family planning program currently in progress. An evaluation of the feasibility of that program’s goals is provided, as well as information on limiting resources, data sensitivity, and the most important ages for contraceptive acceptance.     

Gouldner's theoretical method and reflexive sociology

Conclusion There is a further, more substantial proof that Gouldner, somewhere in the deep metaphorically of his thought, recognized the digression of his sociolinguistic phase. It turns out that the Culture of Critical Discourse did reappear one more time after its repression in The Two Marxisms. In the book on Marxism and intellectuals, left unpublished at the time of his death, CCD reenters in a crucial chapter The Origins of Marxist Theory in the New Class. How and where it reappears is most telling.In The Future of Intellectuals one of the most objectivistic sections is Thesis Eleven, The Alienation of Intellectuals and Intelligentsia. Here, still in the sociolinguistic phase, Gouldner tried, it seems, to answer the troubling question of his New Class theory. How, if CCD is classicist and thus deeply flawed, is the New Class to be a source of revolutionary change? He offers two answers: one, CCD is radicalizing partly because... it experiences itself as distant from (and superior to) ordinary languages; and, two, because intellectuals are structurally blocked with respect to their ascendency to power, status, and the fulfillment of their interests. In other words, the New Class is a source of critique, hence, change because it is alienated, by its discourse, and its structural location. It is crucial to note, however, that Gouldner provides no comprehensive discussion of the nature and effects of that alienation, which is left as a presumably self-evident potential tied to a property (CCD) and a structural effect — two very objectivistic explanations. This theme is picked up in the chapter in the book on Marxism and intellectuals. Here Gouldner provides a full account of alienation. After a very brief discussion of CCD (now presented as dynamically interacting with the second alienating effect, career blockages), Gouldner says: Alienation, then, is a statement about the Subject's failure to have acquired the power and control over his world — including the means of production — inherent in the very notion of the Subject. It is a grievance about the constraint to which the Subject has been exposed. Alienation would not be problematic without the premise that man is and should be a Subject, that persons should control their activity.... The aim of such a Subject, then, is not simply self-control and self-development; he also seeks domination over the object world. The Subject reenters, now capitalized, as if to make up for lost time. Even though, in the same place, Gouldner warns of the humanistic imperialism of this view of the alienated Subject, it is quite clear that the same process is at work here as in The Two Marxisms. Though presenting a superficially balanced appraisal of the subject in its objective context, of critical, voluntaristic Marxism against deterministic objectivist Marxism, Gouldner's prose decidedly favors the revolutionary potential of the Subject. Control over human activity, even domination of the object world, is, virtually, an inherent right of the Subject — a conviction that, Gouldner regrets, loses salience with the emergence of Scientific Marxism. It might be too harsh to interpret the sociolinguistic phase as an objectivistic digression. If Gouldner's work is taken as a whole, it could, more fairly, be said that his Reflexive Sociology was, among other things, an attempt to overcome the limitations placed on social theory by its weddedness to the classical, subject-object dichotomy. Though, from one point of view, he remained within the terms of that debate, from another he employed his own dichotomizing method in an attempt to transcend it. If he was, himself, and for good reasons, on the side of critique, the subject, and voluntarism, this does not mean that he ignored the object world. Whether or not his solution prevails remains to be seen. But it is evident that a problem which today is debated widely among social theorists, was tackled by Gouldner a full generation before Foucault, Bourdieu, and Giddens took up this same question. Such was Gouldner's genius. He left a rich legacy precisely because he trusted his own individuating impulses, personal experiences, unique aptitudes and all of the fainter powers of apprehension, and thus could often see what needed to be seen, and say what needed to be said, long before the rest of us.     

A technique for measuring the effect of economic base on opportunity for blacks

An assessment of the occupational opportunities for selected groups of in-migrants (i.e., Negroes) requires a technique which controls for effects of both national and local employment patterns. We suggest a measure based upon the location quotient and referred to as the "differential opportunity ratio" as a method which provides the necessary controls. It is applicable in the comparative studies of cities and in analyses of other population groups for which data are available.     

Heroin use and criminal careers

The relationship between heroin use and crime has been the subject of continuing debate. While the principle focus of this debate has been the causal nexus between heroin and crime, a related controversy exists regarding the nature of addict criminality. Some have argued that heroin addicts are impulsive and opportunistic criminals, while others maintain that addicts are sophisticated criminal entrepreneurs. The present study based on career history interviews with 30 hard core street addicts, suggests that both positions may be relevant at different times in the addict's career. These addicts clearly identified a preferred main hustle, but did find it necessary to deviate from their main hustle at various times in their careers. This paper seeks to identify those conditions under which addicts are likely to maintain and, conversely, deviate from established patterns of criminality.This research was supported in part by DHEW Grant No. 1 R01 DA01827 from the Division of Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. I would like to thank Carl Klockars for his meticulous guidance through various drafts of this paper.     

Homosexuality in TV situation comedies: characters and verbal comments

A content analysis was conducted on 22 television situation comedies in order to determine the incidence of homosexual characters, their demographics (sex, age and race/ethnicity), and whether they verbally comment about sexual orientation. One episode of each program appearing in early October 2000 was video recorded and analyzed for its contents by trained coders. Only 2% of the 125 central characters were homosexual; thus, homosexuality is significantly under-represented in programs that adolescents and young adults watch compared to actual prevalence rates of homosexuality in North America (10-13%). All the homosexual characters were male and in the 20-35-year-old age group; this indicates that homosexual adolescent viewers have no peer role models with whom to identify. Homosexual characters made significantly more comments about sexual orientation than heterosexual characters. This suggests that television writers/producers present sexual orientation as a significant theme in the lives of homosexual characters.     

"Just therapy" with families on low incomes

This article addresses the inadequacies of counseling, therapy, and social work that occurs with low-income families. The author argues that many families who seek help arrive with problems that are usually assessed separately from their socioeconomic and cultural contexts. Careful questioning will often lead to the discovery that the onset of many family problems are located in events external to the family, such as unemployment, bad housing, and racist, sexist, or heterosexist experiences. They can be extremely depressing ongoing experiences that eventually lead parents and children into a state of stress that opens them up to physical and mental illnesses. This article argues that a wide body of research supports such a view and that counseling, therapeutic, and social work practices should address these issues much more directly. It also argues that practitioners have an important role to play in social and economic policy development out of respect for their clients' struggles.     

The relationship between perceived youth exposure to anti-smoking advertisements: how perceptions differ by race

Data on self-reported perceived exposure to anti-smoking messages were collected from 1,608 high school students surveyed through the ASPIRE (A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience) Program in Houston, Texas. Data collection took place between October 2002 and March 2003. Logistic regression identified that African Americans perceived significantly less exposure to anti-smoking advertisements via television (OR = .50, p < 0.05) and posters (OR = .61, p < 0.05) than whites. However, they had nearly twice as much perceived exposure to anti-smoking advertisements at movies (OR = 1.79, p < or = 0.05) and sporting events (OR = 2.1, p < or = 0.05) than their white counterparts. Hispanic youth perceived significantly less exposure to anti-smoking posters (OR = .51, p < or = 0.05) and significantly higher exposure to anti-smoking messages at sporting events (OR = 1.92, p < or = 0.05) and school programs (OR = 3.44, p < or = 0.05) compared to white youth. While the relationships tested in this study are exploratory, they provide initial evidence for an important nexus between race and communication channels that may impact perceived exposure to tobacco advertising.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology and comorbid depressive symptoms among abused women referred from emergency department care

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) as is comorbid depression. Comorbid depression may exacerbate PTSD severity and chronicity. This study sampled female IPV victims from an urban emergency department to assess the relationship between PTSD symptomatology in the previous 12 months and current depressive symptomatology and to evaluate independent predictors of PTSD symptomatology. Half of respondents had symptoms consistent with PTSD. Those with PTSD symptomatology had significantly higher mean total depression scores and mean scores on 3 of 4 depression subscales than those without PTSD. Depressive symptomatology, being married, sexual IPV, severity of physical IPV, and partner's consumption of 5 or more alcoholic drinks per occasion at least once a month independently predicted PTSD symptomatology. Our findings underscore the important roles these factors play in IPV-related PTSD and the need for prompt identification and intervention of those at risk.