How data type affects conclusions about individual mobility

This paper investigates the implications of using different types of panel data to study individual mobility by means of empirical analyses of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics on intercounty migration of white male heads of household in 1975–1980. While event history data are clearly superior to panel data for studying individual mobility, often event history data are unavailable. We examine the consequences of different panel designs (varying number and spacing of waves) and of different timings of the measurements of explanatory variables. The results indicate that: (1) measuring the covariates at the end of an interval can be misleading, especially if these covariates are likely to change during the interval as a consequence of mobility; (2) a study of the mobility of a group of individuals during a single short interval can lead to different conclusions from a study of the mobility of the same group of individuals during a single long interval; and (3) multiwave panel data have clear advantages over data from a single short interval or a single long interval.     

The positive consequences of stigma: Two case studies in mental and physical disability

This paper adds to the literature on labeling and stigma by focusing on the positive effects, benefits and rewards of possessing a stigma or identity mark. Through an examination of chronic and non-chronic ex-psychiatric patients and involuntarily childless females, we illustrate that such positive responses include: the legitimation of deviant behavior and the deviant role; exemption from normal social roles and obligations; provision of interpersonal and social opportunities; strengthening of familial relationships; opportunities for career growth and change; and personal growth experiences. These specific responses are divided into three generic categories of positive responses to negative labeling: therapeutic opportunities, personal growth experiences, and interpersonal opportunities. We also develop a typology of labeling which incorporates positive and negative labeling and the positive and negative consequences which follow.This is a revision of a paper presented at the 1988 annual meetings of the North Central Sociological Association, Pittsburgh, PA. The research was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and from the Government of Ontario, Canada. Correspondence should be directed to Dr. Nancy J. Herman, Department of Sociology, Central Michigan University, Anspach/140, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.A. 48859; or Dr. Charlene E. Miall, Department of Sociology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M4. We wish to thank Dr. Harry Mika and the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper.     

Outstanding leadership in nonprofit organizations: Leadership competencies in Roman Catholic religious orders

Effective leadership is essential for nonprofits to focus their energies beyond survival and toward accomplishment of their unique missions. This article describes a study of the leadership competencies of a sample of outstanding and typical leaders of Roman Catholic religious orders. The authors present a framework for understanding the characteristics that define excellence in the leadership of nonprofits.     

Anticipating the social consequences of AIDS: A position paper

Even conservative estimates of the future course of AIDS epidemic make clear that only a small fraction of people who ultimately will experience AIDS symptoms now have them and that the spread of the virus will continue for some time to come. This article focuses on the social consequences of the AIDS epidemic, some of which are beginning to be felt. I argue that sociologists have an important contribution to make anticipating the long range social consequences of AIDS. Intelligent planning is impossible without a reduction of uncertainty in what the future might hold. He currently is chair of the Methodology section of the American Sociological Association and vice-chair of the Board of the Directors of the Social Science Research Council. with research interests in gender, kinship, and biosocial science. Her concern for the AIDS epidemic flows from its being a major focus in an interdisciplinary course on human sexuality that she teaches. For the past two years at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, she has coordinated AIDS prevention programs for women and supervised the development of educational materials. For the past three years she has been actively involved in AIDS-related research.     

The Poor Vs. the Non-poor: an Ethnic and Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Comparison

Indicators of 29 of Oscar Lewis' poverty traits were examined to see if poor and non poor families differed significantly in frequency of demonstrating the traits. Families representing six ethnic/residence population types were considered: metropolitan white, nonmetropolitan white, metropolitan, black, nonmetropolitan black, metropolitan Spanish speaking, and nonmetropolitan Spanish-speaking. Of the 29 traits investigated, for 24 traits a significant difference was found between poor and non-poor in at least one ethnic/residence group. Significant differences between poor and non-poor in the two Spanish-speaking groups existed on considerably fewer traits than in the case of the two black or the two white groups, suggesting that the traits examined may be more broadly based in Spanish culture.     

NICHE THEORY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A POPULATION ECOLOGY APPROACH

The application of niche theory to current theories of social movements makes it possible to combine some seemingly disparate hypotheses under a more comprehensive framework. Several major issues are addressed, including: (1) the factors leading individuals to engage in social movements; (2) the relationship that social movements have to one another; (3) the effects of particular strategies on the success of movements; and (4) the potential limits to the number of social movements at any particular time. This article also makes some recommendations about the types of data that would be needed to test the propositions set forth.