Value change: Analyzing national change in citizen secularism across four time periods in the World Values Survey

Convergence or divergence are two plausible but different views on how local cultures respond to the forces of globalization. In the present study, a newly formulated value dimension of secularism was used to investigate the direction of value change induced in members of national groups over the last two decades by the forward march of recent history. A culturally equivalent but single dimension of secularism was extracted from the items tapping the two dimensions of value originally proposed by Inglehart (1997) in the World Values Survey. No evidence of convergence or divergence in secularism was found, as there were no significant differences in standard deviations of citizen scores on secularism across any of the six time periods across which the World Values Survey was administered on the four occasions to date. In addition, there was evidence, though it was not consistent, showing that people across the planet are becoming more secular. Furthermore, a consistently significant relationship between change in HDI (Human Development Index) and change in secularism could not be consistently found for countries, suggesting that cultural value change is not determined by social-economic development. However, the secularism of a country's citizens was found to moderate the impact of social development on secular change during certain recent time period, such that only citizens in initially more secular countries increased their secularism. Future research agendas were proposed in light of these findings.     

From bedside to bench: research agenda for frailty

The American Geriatrics Society sponsored a working conference in January 2004, funded by the National Institute on Aging, to establish the state of the art in frailty research and to set a research agenda for the future. The invited participants included senior basic biologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, and clinical investigators who study aging-related issues. This article summarizes the central theoretical observations on frailty and research needs and opportunities presented and discussed at this conference, and lays out an agenda for future research on frailty.     

Football hooligans: theory and evidence

This paper describes empirical research amongst hooligans. Such research has not always been valued. The significant factor in hooligan behaviour may be asserted to be the generation of violence in the lower working class and its dissemination amongst football fans. It is commonly asserted that hooligans operate in well-organized groups. It is argued here that such assertions need to be based on better evidence. A detailed account is given of the behaviour of a notorious group of fans and its key individuals. This shows that the ‘hard core’ fans were distinguished from others only by greater dedication to football and their club; they had a potentiality for violence but only of the low level kind that many others shared; they were more often involved simply because they went to more matches; they lacked organization. Nevertheless outsiders were, not unreasonably, sure they were a violent, organized group. This casts doubt on similar beliefs held about other groups unless beliefs are well substantiated. Detailed ethnography is valuable because it helps to sort out the nature of the ‘hooligan’ problem that requires to be theorized.     

Status Inequality and Close Relationships: An Integrative Typology of Bond-Saving Strategies

Equality is described in the literature as a prerequisite to satisfying close relations, but research has not seriously grappled with how a sense of equality is created or how inequalities might be overcome. This paper uses an interactionist perspective to explore how individuals maintain or repair a close social bond when a perceived difference in status is defined to be problematic. In 7 76 essays, respondents described a situation where a status inequality disrupted a close relationship, the strategies one or both of the participants used to maintain the bond, and how effective the strategies were. Analytic induction yielded four basic strategy types: (a) accept the status inequality; (b) avoid the situation which fosters feelings of inequality; (c) alter the inequality by redefining or concretely mitigating it; and (d) acknowledge and discuss the problematic situation. Findings from previous research on facework, embarrassment, and shame are integrated into this typology, and implications are drawn for symbolic interactionist theory and research.     

Why do drug treatment organizations use contingent staffing arrangements? An analysis of market and social influences

Contingent staffing arrangements are defined as conditional and transitory work arrangements. In the drug abuse treatment sector, contingent staffing arrangements have the potential to improve treatment if they are used to increase access to needed services. Alternatively, such arrangements could interfere with the development of consistent, long-term client-staff relationships. Unfortunately, little is known about the consequences of or influences on contingent staff arrangements in this sector. The goal of this study is to examine the conditions under which outpatient substance abuse treatment organizations are more likely to use contingent staffing arrangements. Building on previous research on the social organization of health care structures and practices, we develop a conceptual model based in market economics and institutional perspectives to suggest that treatment organizations choose contingent arrangements in response to market conditions and uncertainty, institutional demands, and client needs. Using data from a nationally representative study conducted in 1988, 1990, and 1995, we find limited evidence that drug treatment units use contingent staff in response to market pressures. Labor market and demand uncertainty, however, are systematically associated with greater use of contingent staff. Study results suggest that expectations and norms from the institutional environment, particularly the organizational context of the treatment unit are strong predictors of the use of contingent staff. By considering both market and social influences of contingent staffing, we contribute to a growing body of research on how markets and institutions interact to influence organizational structures and practices in the health care system.     

Time frames

Response to the events of 9/11 evidenced the need for greater local and national capacity to meet the needs of children and families before, during, and after future attacks.     

Structural change in the communication of precedent among state supreme courts, 1870–1970

State supreme courts often cite each other as authorities. These citations constitute a network of the interstate communication of precedent. I develop here a simple procedure for decomposing and standardizing variation in the strength of communication network ties, which yields terms for concentration (comparable to density), prestige variation, dependency variation, and variation due to the interaction of prestige and dependence. Applied to the interstate communication of precedent between 1870 and 1970, the procedure reveals several structural changes. The trend in the network over those hundred years was from a hierarchy dominated by a few Eastern courts, through a period of widespread production of precedent and homogeneous communication, to a decentralized regional structure with diffuse centers of authority.     

The consequences of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Africa on mothers,children, and orphans

Orphanhood is a sad and unique problem of the HIV pandemic, compared with other epidemics, for generally both parents will be infected and will tend to die during young adulthood, leaving behind young children. The rising morbidity and mortality of HIV-infected mothers and fathers threaten to decrease the care and resources spent on children and to increase the prevalence of orphanhood. However, the extent and impact of orphanhood due to HIV/AIDS are not known. This paper presents two aspects of HIV infection and its impact on women and children in sub-Saharan Africa: the results of two analyses of the HIV-attributable mortality of mothers and the orphanhood of their young children.