ASA certification as cooptation

We provide a brief overview of the American Sociological Association’s Ph.D. Certification Program and question the need for, and justification of, certifying sociologists. Essentially, the ASA certification mechanism, as implemented, is nonsociological, emphasizing presumed defects in the individual to the neglect of wider, systemic forces impinging on our discipline. If certification of sociologists is warranted, a view difficult to support given the small number of applicants for certification since 1986, we suggest departmental accreditation—a more sociological approach that emphasizes the value of the discipline, in and of itself. His research interests include political sociology, stratification and contemporary issues affecting the discipline. His research foci include rural and agricultural issues and the sociological employment market and profession.     

Public Opposition to a Proposed Nuclear Waste Repository in Canada: An Investigation of Cultural and Economic Effects

Residents of four northern communities were surveyed about Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's proposal to site an underground repository for high-level nuclear waste somewhere in the Canadian Shield. Opposition to the repository was relatively strong in all communities, but was strongest among aboriginal respondents. Path analysis revealed that trust in nuclear regulators, faith in science and technology, and anticipated net costs were important mediators of this effect. Aboriginals were less trusting, exhibited less faith in science and technology, and perceived the costs associated with the repository to be higher than their nonaboriginal counterparts. No support was found for the hypothesis that, after controlling for aboriginal status, financially insecure individuals would display greater support for the nuclear waste repository than financially secure individuals. Policy implications for balancing perceived risks and siting needs are discussed.     

Parenthood and Marital Satisfaction: A Meta‐Analytic Review

This meta‐analysis finds that parents report lower marital satisfaction compared with nonparents (d=?.19, r=?.10). There is also a significant negative correlation between marital satisfaction and number of children (d=?.13, r=?.06). The difference in marital satisfaction is most pronounced among mothers of infants (38% of mothers of infants have high marital satisfaction, compared with 62% of childless women). For men, the effect remains similar across ages of children. The effect of parenthood on marital satisfaction is more negative among high socioeconomic groups, younger birth cohorts, and in more recent years. The data suggest that marital satisfaction decreases after the birth of a child due to role conflicts and restriction of freedom.     

Beyond White Pride: Identity,Meaning and Contradiction in the Canadian Skinhead Subculture*

Partant de l'approche culturelle de l'analyse des sous-cultures observées chez les jeunes, cette enquête sur le terrain menée dans une ville de l'Ouest canadien examine les significations que nos sujets accordent à leur appartenance à un sous-groupe de skinheads qui se veut apolitique. Notre étude remet en cause une certaine image que l'on se fait du mouvement skinhead. En dépit des idées reçues qui véhiculent une apparente homogénéité, notre recherche montre que la sous-culture skinhead est à la fois complexe et multidimensionnelle et qu'elle offre à ses membres un choix de modèles de comportements et d'orientations idéologiques, même s'ils sont souvent contradictoires. Notre analyse suggèe aussi que, loin d'être profondément contestataires ou révolutionnaires, les groupes de skinheads peuvent constituer un instrument de reproduction des rapports sociaux, en particulier les rapports entre les sexes, les groupes raciaux et les ethnies. Grounded in a cultural studies approach to youth subcultures and based on participant observation in a Western Canadian city, this study examines the meanings associated with membership for participants in a self-described “non-political” branch of the skinhead subculture. Despite popular images that imply homogeneity, the study shows that the skinhead subculture is both complex and multi-dimensional and that it accommodates, albeit in often contradictory ways, a range of behavioural and ideological opportunities for its members. The study also suggests that, far from being resistant or transformative in any significant way, skinhead groups may represent a vehicle for social reproduction, specifically with respect to gender, race and ethnicity.     

Editorial introduction to the Special Issue

In March 2004, a major conference on community development inthe ‘new Europe’ was held in Budapest, Hungary,to mark the accession of a further ten nation states, most ofthem in the east and central European region, to the EuropeanUnion. The conference was sponsored by the International Associationfor Community Development (www.iacdglobal.org), in conjunctionwith the Combined European Bureau for Social Development (www.cebsd.org),the Hungarian Association for Community Development (kofe@kkapcsolat.hu),and the Community Development Journal (www.cdj.oupjournals.org).The initial outcome was the Budapest Declaration, the text ofwhich was included in the CDJ issue of October 2004 (39(4),423–429 – copies     

Researching Children: Methods and Ethics

The appropriateness and desirability of researching children have been issues of some debate. Children may be perceived as non-competent or vulnerable, and proxies have been used as children's representatives. Increasingly researchers are speaking to children directly. Why is this so and what are the methodological and ethical implications of researching children's views? In this paper the authors draw on their own experiences of researching children in the fields of child carers and the impact of the Child Support Act 1991. A number of social, political and legal trends are identified which form a background to the growing interest in children as potential and actual participants in the research process. The theoretical, methodological, ethical and practical issues involved are then identified and described, using examples from two separate studies conducted by the authors.