THE SOCIAL MANAGEMENT OF AMBITION

This study of "the social management of ambition' (Hopper 1968) analyzes the changes in occupational expectations that occur among a group of ambitious high school seniors during the seven years after graduation. The predictions of a socialization and of a social reproduction model of the process of expectations change are compared using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Loglinear analysis is used to estimate a model, with a focus on the roles played by race, gender, social origins, and marriage. Less than one-fifth of the original sample remained "on track' toward achieving their original goals, most often members of already advantaged groups (whites and those from upper-middle-class homes). Married women were among the "cumulatively disadvantaged,' unlike their single peers. Marriage in particular had very different consequences for members of different social groups.     

Does structure find structure?: A critique of Burt's use of distance as a measure of structural equivalence

This paper examines some of the assumptions and consequences of the use of distance as a measure of structural equivalence, as implemented in Burt's STRUCTURE program. We take the general perspective that for a measure to be useful it should not confound separate types of information which are theoretically and mathematically independent. The mathematical relationship between distance and the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient is presented. We show that use of distance as a measure of similarity without proper attention to appropriate standardization procedures confounds information on differences between means and differences between variances with information on the similarity of the patterns between pairs of individuals, e.g. correlation. A detailed examination of Burt and Bittner's analysis of Bernard, Killworth and Sailer's Ham radio operator group is presented, and it is demonstrated that use of distance as a measure of structural equivalence led to nonsensical results.     

‘No Thought of Gender’: Bodily Norms in Swedish Rescue Services Incident Reporting

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play an increasingly important role in the preventative and planning work carried out by rescue services, but to date there has been little research investigating how these technologies may be involved in the gendering of the organization. In this study, I seek to complement existing analyses of the gendered rescue service by focusing on a web portal used to collect, process and publish data about accidents in Sweden. Through the figuration of the ‘modest witness’ I suggest how an apparent absence of gender in the accident reporting process may actually be part of a wider organizational process of gendering in which only certain bodies are allowed to be visible and allowed to witness officially.     

Fragmented identities, frustrated politics: transsexuals, lesbians and 'queer'

This paper seeks to explore the complex position transsexualism has in relation to a range of personal identities and identity politics. In recent years there has been considerable debate over 'borderline identities' particularly between lesbians, transgenderists, and FTM and MTF transsexuals who transgress the identity category 'lesbian.'2 Stronger political affiliations between transsexuals, lesbians and feminists are argued for, and a greater recognition of the futility in attempting to demarcate the infinitely blurred ontological boundaries between 'sex,' gender and sexuality. Rather, we should focus on 'issue' based politics that challenge heterosexist and normative gender epistemologies and practices that restrict non-conformist subjectivities.     

THE NEW EPISTEMOLOGY AND THE MILAN APPROACH: FEMINIST AND SOCIOPOLITICAL CONSDDERATIONS*

While the new epistemology and related models of therapy are claimed to have radical social implications, the Milan approach is in ill repute amongst feminists who see it as conservative in relation to women's issues. This paper explores the sociopolitical implications of the new epistemology and the Milan approach, concluding that, while second order cybernetics has greater potential to incorporate a radical social analysis, it has, nevertheless, failed to do so. The application of second order cybernetics in family therapy appears to be constrained by the sociopolitical conservatism of its proponents.     

What's wrong is right: A response to the state of the discipline

In the June issue ofSociological Forum, several authors addressed the question, What's Wrong with Sociology. Answers included increased fragmentation of the discipline, and the lack of an identifiable cumulative core of sociological knowledge. This paper examines many of the claims made by the contributors to the June 1994Sociological Forum, reframes their arguments, and by placing debates regarding the problems in sociology in a broader perspective, identifies many of the recent advances made by the discipline. Focusing on such notable contributions to the field as feminist and postmodern scholarship, we locate the positive side of multiple perspective research.Feminist Scholars in Sociology is a collective of researchers and teachers at the University of Colorado interested in exploring and sharing feminist theory and methodology.     

Skewed Sex Ratios and Criminal Victimization in India

Although substantial research has explored the causes of India’s excessively masculine population sex ratio, few studies have examined the consequences of this surplus of males. We merge individual-level data from the 2004–2005 India Human Development Survey with data from the 2001 India population census to examine the association between the district-level male-to-female sex ratio at ages 15 to 39 and self-reports of victimization by theft, breaking and entering, and assault. Multilevel logistic regression analyses reveal positive and statistically significant albeit substantively modest effects of the district-level sex ratio on all three victimization risks. We also find that higher male-to-female sex ratios are associated with the perception that young unmarried women in the local community are frequently harassed. Household-level indicators of family structure, socioeconomic status, and caste, as well as areal indicators of women’s empowerment and collective efficacy, also emerge as significant predictors of self-reported criminal victimization and the perceived harassment of young women. The implications of these findings for India’s growing sex ratio imbalance are discussed.