The sampling continuum: musical aesthetics and ethics in the age of digital production

This article argues for a view of popular music production that better accounts for sampling than has historically been the case by viewing it as a continuum of activity. Weighing evidence from interviews with musical practitioners against the legal and industry frameworks, we illustrate, first, how sampling has been legally differentiated from other types of musical copying. Secondly we show that, despite this, comparable ethical codes exist within and across musical methods wherein sampling is part of the spectrum of activities. Thirdly, we discuss the ubiquity of digital technology within popular music production and the resultant closer relationship between sampling and other musical techniques moving onto, fourthly, how the sampling aesthetic has become integrated into musical practice in a manner insufficiently accounted for by its legal and industrial contexts. This ‘post-sampling’ reality places sampling and other musical techniques along a spectrum, in practical and ethical terms, and musicians would be better served by sampling being treated as part of the overall musical palette, allowing both scholars and the law to concentrate on ideologies of practice across the tools that musicians use rather than between different specific techniques.     

Differential association between unemployment status and mental health among veterans and civilians

This study aims to examine the negative effect of unemployment on mental health among 2,762 veterans and 45,095 civilians aged 18 to 50 years. The data were from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. We used ordinary least squares regression to test the interaction association between employment status and veteran/civilian status with mental health status. Findings revealed that long-term unemployed veterans had a significantly greater number of days with poor mental health than long-term unemployed civilians. The study highlights the need for future research concerning the negative effects of long-term unemployment on veterans’ mental health as well as the reciprocal relationships between mental health and occupational functioning for veterans. The findings challenge researchers to question the meanings that are associated with employment status for veterans as compared to those of their civilian peers. In addition to this, the study raises the need for further exploration into the topics of identity, self-perception, and the notion often present in the military/veteran culture that there is “dignity in labor.”     

The Institutional Structure of Eminence: Alignment of Prestige among Intra-University Academic Departments

Abstract

This study examines the reputational ratings of twenty disciplines using data from the 1982 Conference Board of Associated Research Councils to identify the extent to which such ratings can produce meaningful rankings of universities. Given that perceptions of departments and universities reflect social psychological images about the relative value of the program or school, such images can have powerful implications for hiring, recognition and the rewards process if they remain stable over time. The result is a mental construct that can have powerful implications for structure of stratification among higher educational institutions and the careers of those who pass through these universities. Seen from this perspective, eminence based on reputation is a property of the university. As such, departments within given universities should be quite consistent with regard to their respective ratings. Findings from this paper reveal the reputations of programs within universities are quite similar to each other, based on prestige ratings made by faculty in the same discipline at other universities. Implications for the structure of eminence and its consequences for individuals are subsequently discussed.     

Notes on contributors

This article focuses on the organizational practices of the music industry to contribute a neglected dimension to our understanding of rap as a commercial activity and cultural form. It initially situates the production of rap within the context of the corporate strategies and business practices of musical entertainment companies, stressing how rap production is located within the context of corporate ‘black music divisions’ and the major labels' relationships to smaller companies. At the same time, the study considers how musical production is shaped by broader culture processes and practices that are not directly within the control or understanding of the company. As corporate organization intersects with and attempts to make sense of surrounding culture, I argue that the actions of recording companies are a direct intervention into and contribution to the way in which the social world is rationalized and fragmented and through which different cultural experiences are separated and treated unequally. This argument is focused on the theme of ‘the street’ and ‘executive suite’ through which I suggest that, while it is important to acknowledge the struggles of rap artists and entrepreneurs for both recognition and independence from the corporate world, it is also important to highlight deliberate attempts to maintain a distance between the corporate world and the genre culture of rap. This article seeks to contribute to our understanding of the articulations between musical genre, occupational practices and broader cultural formations, highlighting a significant series of connections and relational practices which connect production and consumption and the articulations through which corporate organization is linked to broader cultural formations.     

Going It Alone: Post-9/11 Veteran Nonuse of Healthcare and Social Service Programs During Their Early Transition to Civilian Life

Transitioning from military to civilian life is challenging for a substantial number of veterans. Successful transitions require veterans to function well in various well-being domains including employment, education, financial, health, and social relationships. There are many programs and services designed to assist veterans transition to civilian life. However, veterans rarely avail themselves of supportive resources. This study examined veteran nonuse of programs and services within the first three months of their transition to civilian life. Results revealed that male veterans often reported that they did not need programs. Female veterans and veterans from the lowest enlisted ranks were more likely to report that they did not know if they were eligible for support programs. A small percentage of veterans indicated they had not found the right program or did not know where to go to get help. Veterans need clear information about available programs, eligibility requirements, where to locate them, and how to identify which programs will benefit them. Future research should focus on what predicts veteran use of programs and services, how use changes over time, and how programs and services should be advertised/marketed to different veteran populations, particularly those at risk for poor transition outcomes.     

THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF BLACK EMPLOYMENT BETWEEN THE CENTRAL CITY AND THE SUBURBS

The share of fast food restaurant jobs held by blacks is smaller in the suburbs than in the central city. This is of interest because expected wages are higher in the suburbs. Estimating a model of the racial composition of the restaurant's workforce, we find that 36 percent of the difference in black employment share between central city and suburban firms is attributable to the fact that suburban firms are less frequently served by public transit. City/suburban differences in the race of managers and customers also play an important role, accounting for 29 percent of the difference.     

A Burkean Hermeneutics for Understanding the Social Character of Schizophrenic Language

Drawing upon Kenneth Burke's distinction between semantic and poetic meaning in all language used by human actors, this study develops a hermeneutics for understanding the language of people afflicted with schizophrenia in social interaction. Documentary evidence from first person accounts, TV and video portrayals, and clinical reports is used for purposes of explication. A review of previous literature on schizophrenic language is provided to identify the particular contribution of this study for the development of more inclusive interactions with people afflicted with schizophrenia.     

Human capital,social integration,and tournaments: A test of graduate student success models

A tournament model emphasizes variation in graduate department resources and environments and is compared to human capital models of graduate student success. Success is defined as participation of sociology students in professional activities and commitment to various professional aspirations. Data from a random survey of 25 sociology graduate programs provided student achievement indicators and department resource factors that are regressed on student success rates. Both the department resource factors and student background variables show substantial effects on success, and human capital factors are moderated by the opportunity structure of the graduate program itself. Women students have lower academic aspirations and racial/ethnic minority students participate in professional activities at lower rates, when student achievement factors are controlled. Academic and private-sector career goals and department resource effects on graduate student involvement are discussed. This article is a revision of a paper presented at the American Sociological Association meetings, August 1991.     

Durkheim's Dilemma: Toward a Sociology of Emergence

The concept of emergence is a central thread uniting Durkheim's theoretical and empirical work, yet this aspect of Durkheim's work has been neglected. I reinterpret Durkheim in light of theories of emergence developed by contemporary philosophers of mind, and I show that Durkheim's writings prefigure many elements of these contemporary theories. Reading Durkheim as an emergentist helps to clarify several difficult and confusing aspects of his work, and reveals a range of unresolved issues. I identify five such issues, and I show how Durkheim's writings on emergence suggest potential responses.