Policing Urban America: A New Look at the Politics of Agency Size*

Objectives. This article analyzes competing explanations for variation in the relative size of contemporary police forces in larger U.S. cities. The featured explanation is conflict theory, which previously provided much evidence for a racial threat thesis but limited evidence that racial insurgency affected police mobilization in the 1960s and 1970s. Methods. The study sample consists of the 66 cities with a population of at least 250,000 in 2000. Aggregate data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Congressional Quarterly's America Votes, and the U.S. Census Bureau are combined with a content analysis using the Lexis‐Nexis regional news database to generate the data set. OLS regression modeling is applied to the analysis of this cross‐sectional data set. Results. This analysis shows that the size of contemporary police forces is substantially shaped not only by the legacy of the 1960–1970 wave of racial unrest in the United States, but also by reaction to racial disorders in the 1980s and 1990s and by the prevalence of racial minorities in the current population. Conclusions. Police departments' relative force size in 2000 is not only a result of incremental growth from the size attained by 1980, but also is dramatically shaped by whether the city experienced a race riot from 1980–2000 and, to a lesser extent, the size of the minority population and the violent crime rate. City wealth is a less robust indicator; and there is no evidence that either community ideology or the degree of uptake of community policing matters.     

伊朗的仪式与革命

本文开宗明义地宣称:仪式和象征并非纯粹由情绪构成,它们具有相应的意识形态,如果说前两者是不可证伪的,难以推论的,则后者是可以争议、批评和证伪的。格尔兹、特纳、布洛克与拉帕波特等人分析仪式时所犯的严重错误就在于忽视了这一点,从而他们过分强调人类经验中的情绪部分和通过仪式操纵人们情绪的随意程度,低估了人类的智力。因此,在方法论上应该把宗教象征作为一个二维运动来讨论,注意意识形态与现实的距离,以及情绪和理性互为表里的关系和互相影响。带着这个理论框架,作者以1978年伊朗人民推翻国王的运动为背景。但她不是分析这场革命,而是分析运动过程中的宗教象征和意识形态的关系。作者还原了宗教象征的二元结构。认为宗教象征不是浑然一体的,而是叠加的两部分,逻辑上可以剥离。据此观察经济政治的变化对意识形态的影响,并推动意识形态影响去仪式符号,以及仪式对意识形态的维护,最终说明仪式能够对社会变迁和政治变迁起到极其重要的作用。     

Self-perceptions of unpopularity in adolescence: Links to past and current adjustment

Self-perceptions of unpopularity in 404 high school students were found to reflect current emotional and behavioral distress. The authors studied these youths from ages 9 to 15 to examine early risks and current factors associated with perceptions of unpopularity. Feelings of unpopularity in middle childhood increased the risk of similar feelings in adolescence. However, self-reports of unpopularity at age 9 were not strong predictors of emotional and anti-social problems at age 15. Identification of unpopular adolescents and recommendations for future practice and research are proposed.This research was supported in part by Grant MH41569, National Institute of Mental Health. It was adapted from the doctoral dissertation of Dr. Cohen, Simmons College School of Social Work, completed in June, 1991. The authors wish to thank the dissertation committee members, Craig Edelbrock and Barent Walsh for their major contributions.Dr. Cohen is affiliated with the Early Adulthood Research Project, Simmons College, School of Social Work, and the co-authors are affiliated with the School of Social Work.     

Perceived family history of problem gambling and scores on SOGS

A sample of 93 veterans (92.4% males), with a median age of 41, (Mean=43.5) attending clinics for problem drinking, drug abuse and other mental disorders was screened for problems associated with the diagnosis of pathological gambling. The diagnostic instrument employed was the South Oaks Gambling Screen developed by Lesieur and Blume. The data replicate earlier findings indicating a link between parental problem gambling and pathological gambling. The results extended this association to include grandparents thus firming the familial relationship. Several epidemiological measures were defined and illustrated. These included relative risk, the odds ratio, attributable risk percent and population attributable risk percent. The data were consistent with previous research that substance abusers are about six times as likely to be addicted to gambling as the general population.This research was supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.     

Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Well‐being: Does ‘Having a Say’ Matter?

This article argues the importance of ensuring initiatives aimed at improving children’s social and emotional well‐being are based on sound participatory principles. The discussion posits links between the recognition of children, dialogic approaches to participation, changing conceptualisations of children and childhood, and children’s well‐being. It explores these links in light of one particular initiative, Seasons for Growth ( Graham, 1996, 2002 , Seasons for Growth; Loss and Grief Education Program. MacKillop Foundation), an education programme built around emerging evidence that giving children a voice assists them to adapt to family change. The paper concludes with insights into what is involved when we locate notions of ‘having a say’ as a key element in promoting children’s well‐being.© 2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation 2010 National Children’s Bureau and Blackwell Publishing Limited.     

Educational attainment of children from single-parent families: Differences by exposure,gender, and race

This article examines the effect of living in a single-parent family on educational attainment by gender and race. According to household production theory, the reduction in parental resources for human capital investment in children living in a single-parent family should lower their educational attainment. Using matched mother-daughter and mother-son samples from the National Longitudinal Surveys, we constructed precise measures of the age and length of time a child lived in a single-parent family. Empirical findings show that the negative effect of living in a single-parent family (1) increases with the number of years spent in this type of family, (2) is greatest during the preschool years, and (3) is larger for boys than girls.