The Importance of Race Among Black Sociologists*

This paper explores the importance of race and racial attitudes among sociologists by attempting to document the existence of what has been called a “black insiders doctrine” and showing that black sociologists are more likely than their white counterparts to subscribe to this doctrine. Data in this paper are based on a survey questionnaire administered during the winter of 1978. The findings show that: (1) race is a strong predictor in determining how sociologists perceive the role and characteristics of black sociologists and (2) black sociologists do not think highly of whites who study race relations.     

Comparisons among heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual male sadomasochists

Between 1982 and 1984 a questionnaire designed to elicit demographic and behavioral information concerning individuals who participate in sadomasochism (S&M) was distributed nationally. Data from 136 heterosexual, 45 bisexual, and 91 homosexual male sadomasochists (N = 272) were analyzed. Similarities and differences among these three groups in response to 15 of the 40 questions asked concerning age and manner of first S&M interest, openness with others concerning those interests, self image and adjustment, sexual behavior, and sex role orientation are reported and compared to findings previously reported by Spengler (1977), Lee (1979), Kamel (1980), Weinberg & Falk (1980) and Weinberg, Williams, & Moser (1984). Issues concerning the categorization of the respondents into appropriate S&M sex role types are also discussed.     

Graphs for Margins of Bayesian Networks

Directed acyclic graph (DAG) models—also called Bayesian networks—are widely used in probabilistic reasoning, machine learning and causal inference. If latent variables are present, then the set of possible marginal distributions over the remaining (observed) variables is generally not represented by any DAG. Larger classes of mixed graphical models have been introduced to overcome this; however, as we show, these classes are not sufficiently rich to capture all the marginal models that can arise. We introduce a new class of hyper‐graphs, called mDAGs, and a latent projection operation to obtain an mDAG from the margin of a DAG. We show that each distinct marginal of a DAG model is represented by at least one mDAG and provide graphical results towards characterizing equivalence of these models. Finally, we show that mDAGs correctly capture the marginal structure of causally interpreted DAGs under interventions on the observed variables.     

Globalisation and Female Economic Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study assesses the relationship between globalisation and the economic participation of women (EPW) in 47 Sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1990–2013. EPW is measured with the female labour force participation and employment rates. The empirical evidence is based on panel-corrected standard errors and fixed effects regressions. The findings show that the positive effect of the overall globalisation index on EPW is dampened by its political component and driven by its economic and social components, with a higher positive magnitude from the former or economic globalisation. For the most part, the findings are robust to the control for several structural and institutional characteristics. An extended analysis by unbundling globalisation shows that the positive incidence of social globalisation is driven by information flow (compared to personal contact and cultural proximity) while the positive effect of economic globalisation is driven by actual flows (relative to restrictions). Policy implications are discussed with some emphasis on how to elevate women’s social status and potentially reduce their victimisation to male dominance.     

Who Participates,How and Why in Urban Regeneration Projects? The Case of the New ‘City’ of East Manchester

Participation is advocated by political leaders as crucial for enhancing social responsibility, building social capital, improving public services, qualifying for full citizenship and for enabling local democratic participation. Despite this increased commitment to encouraging public participation, however, there remains a lack of understanding of what motivates individuals to become community activists. This analysis of urban regeneration confirms that participation is a minority sport reflecting the reluctance and/or inability of the majority of community members to engage. The motives for that minority of local people who do engage are, therefore, important for policy-makers and academics to understand. This research project in east Manchester reveals that the motives of activists are varied and more nuanced than is proposed by existing social science theories such as rational choice, social network theory or the application of such concepts as citizen-consumers. A hybridized model which privileges social network theory without, however, entirely excluding ideas of the consumer-citizen and rational choice is advocated as a more effective way of explaining both community activism and also the varying levels and durability of individual participation. If participation is to increase, however, it is vital that the nuanced motives of participants are better appreciated.