Capital Constructions: Newspaper Reporting in Death Penalty Cases

This study evaluates aspects of newspaper reporting about death penalty cases and capital defendants. In a content analysis of newspaper coverage of a representative sample of 26 death penalty-eligible defendants who were brought to trial in California, we found that articles tended to cite primarily from law enforcement and prosecutorial sources, focused very heavily on the characteristics of the crime, and omitted or de-emphasized most other aspects of the case. News coverage generally failed to place the criminal behavior of the defendant in any social historical or contextual framework from which readers (as potential voters and jurors) could grasp the potential mitigating elements of the case. We conclude that newspaper coverage of capital crimes may influence public support for the death penalty, and undermine public appreciation of the role of social contextual factors in crime causation in general. It also may bias the perspective with which potential jurors approach specific capital trials and even contribute to the lack of instructional comprehension that has been found to plague the death sentencing process.     

Reactions by Native American parents to child protection agencies: cultural and community factors.

The oppression suffered by Native Americans has so undermined their culture and ability to parent that child abuse and neglect are frequent problems. Yet the history of oppression often seriously damages the capacity of many Native American parents to accept help from child protective service agencies and staff members. This article explains the particular characteristics and behaviors of some Native American parents, and closes with a summarized guide to understanding these parents and to appropriate behavior on the part of social workers.     

THE INFLUENCE OF FEAR OF CRIME, GENDER, AND SOUTHERN CULTURE ON CARRYING FIREARMS FOR PROTECTION

This research examines the influence of fear of crime, gender, and a southern cultural tradition on the frequency of carrying firearms for protection against criminal victimization. Analysis of carrying guns for protection, as opposed to having them in the home or owning them for this purpose, is argued to remove some methodological problems plaguing much previous research. Fear of crime is not found to be a significant predictor of carrying; however, gender and cultural context do have predictable influences. Males and persons residing in a traditionally southern cultural context carried guns most frequently, compared to others, for protection against crime. One important finding is an interaction effect between gender and culture: southern culture levels the difference between genders by increasing female more than male carrying of a gun. Theoretical and research implications are discussed.     

Expectancies and Mental Models as Determinants of Adolescents' Smoking Decisions

Cigarette smoking has been identified as the single most preventable source of mortality and morbidity in the United States. Experimentation with tobacco typically begins in adolescence, and smoking during this period is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of adult smoking status. In the present paper, we review several prominent decision models that have been applied to adolescent smoking, and point out important limitations of these models. We then propose a new process-oriented framework of decision-making based on the concept of mental models, and discuss the implications of this framework for developing effective smoking prevention and cessation interventions for adolescents.     

The generalized action potential of protest movements: The new class,social trends,and political exclusion explanations

Three explanations have been advanced to account for the generalized action potential of contemporary protest movements: the rise of the new class, a set of general social trends that cumulatively lead to liberalized social values and loosened social restraints against protest, and the mobilization of excluded groups. Analyzing three dimensions of generalized action potential—protest potential, political action repertoires, and protest movement support—we find support for all three explanations. Educated salaried professionals, especially sociocultural and public sector professionals, display greater protest potential, especially for civil disobedience, and are supportive of emerging “middle class” movements. A set of general social trends centering on increased education, life-cycle and generational change, secularism, and increased women's autonomy also create greater action potential. Reflecting mobilization against political exclusion, African Americans display a consistently strong generalized action potential. These protests reflect the rise of new political repertoires, particularly “protest activism,” which combines protest with high levels of conventional participation and is centered among the more educated.     

The regional consequences of economic restructuring: the West Coast, New Zealand (1984–1991)

This paper focuses on the local implications of the state's response to crisis under global capitalism. New Zealand, one of a small number of European settler, primary producer economies, performed relatively poorly through the post-war long boom. A new government in 1984 sought to rectify this through an intensive programme of deregulation and state sector restructuring. This, however, was carried out without consideration of the impacts of policy on people in places, whose interests were assumed to coincide with the ‘national interest’. The local effects of the restructuring of both state and private sector capital are traced through a study of the West Coast of the South Island, a remote rural region, formerly dependent on extractive activity and state sector employment. The importance of understanding the interaction of local, national and global forces in assessing the outcome of restructuring is shown, and the need to understand the specificity of place in accounting for people's reactions to restructuring is underlined. The state is now reliant on a model of ‘enterprise’ to counter continued disinvestment, the validity of which requires ongoing research.     

The choice between union membership and free-rider status

Free riders are employees who are covered by collective bargaining agreements but are not union members. This article examines the choice between free-rider status and union membership. A discriminant analysis of data from the 1988Current Population Survey identifies employee characteristics that distinguish free riders from union members. Factors influencing the decision to be a free rider, including the knowledge of available options, the preferential treatment of union members, the value of reputation, and union consciousness are discussed. A probit analysis determines the extent to which earnings and proxy measures for the value of reputation and union consciousness affect free-rider status. Suggestions are made for extending the study of the free riders and for the design of internal organizing campaigns. The authors thank an anonymous referee for helpful comments.