Knowledge of American sign language and the ability of hearing individuals to decode facial expressions of emotion

The relation between knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) and the ability to decode facial expressions of emotion was explored in this study. Subjects were 60 college students, half of whom were intermediate level students of ASL and half of whom had no exposure to a signed language. Subjects viewed and judged silent video segments of stimulus persons experiencing spontaneous emotional reactions representing either happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, or fear/surprise. Results indicated that hearing subjects knowledgeable in ASL were generally better than hearing non-signers at identifying facial expressions of emotion, although there were variations in decoding accuracy regarding the specific emotion being judged. In addition, females were more successful decoders than males. Results have implications for better understanding the nature of nonverbal communication in deaf and hearing individuals.We are grateful to Karl Scheibe for comments on an earlier version of this paper and to Erik Coats for statistical analysis. This study was conducted as part of a Senior Honors thesis at Wesleyan University.     

Social Consequences of Employee/Management Buyouts: Two Canadian Examples From the Forest Sector*

Abstract Local control of natural resource processing facilities in small rural communities is often viewed as beneficial to community development. This paper employs social impact assessment tools to examine the social and economic effects of change in the ownership of forest products mills in two communities. Our analysis documents (1) the degree to which local ownership of the new, locally owned corporations led to local reinvestment of profits, and (2) whether the goals of the architects of these buyouts were realized: the maintenance of jobs, income, population, and a way of life. Overall, both communities were able to maintain jobs, population, and real estate values, and profits were reinvested in mill upgrades. After the buyouts, however, both communities experienced a rise and then a decline in community cohesion, and changes in local social and power relations, in which local ownership was short‐lived; benefits to relationships within the community were mixed.     

Downshifting: An Exploration of Motivations,Quality of Life,and Environmental Practices

“Downshifting,” reducing work hours, thereby income, to increase leisure time, offers a possible individual‐level solution to the stress many experience from long working hours and work intensification. Recently, some have argued that an increase in leisure time with a reduction in income might also foster pro‐environmental lifestyles as has been demonstrated for the “voluntary simplicity” movement. Quantitative research on the relationship between downshifting and quality of life is scant, with equivocal results, and studies of the relationship between downshifting and environmental lifestyles are even more rare. Survey data from a western Canadian city reveal nonsignificant impacts of downshifting on two measures of quality of life (subjective well‐being and satisfaction with time use) as well as on sustainable transportation practices. However, downshifting is significantly associated with sustainable household practices. In order for downshifting to have more widespread positive effects, further structural changes in broader domains such as work culture, urban design, and support for families will be required.     

Collective Action in Modern Times: How Modern Expressions of Prejudice Prevent Collective Action

This contribution addresses modern forms of group-based discrimination, and examines how these impact upon the likelihood that people engage in collective action. Based on a review of the relevant literature, we predict that modern expressions of prejudice are less likely to be perceived as indicating group-based disadvantage and hence elicit less anger, protest, and collective action than old-fashioned prejudice. We present three studies to offer empirical support for this prediction. In Study 1 ( N = 116), female participants were led to believe that the general public endorses either old-fashioned or modern sexist views. In Study 2 ( N = 44) and 3 ( N = 37) female participants were exposed to a student supervisor who allegedly held either old-fashioned or modern sexist views. Results of all three studies indicate that modern sexism is less likely to be perceived as a form of discrimination, and as a result elicits less anger at the source and less support for collective action (Study 1), intentions to protest (Study 2), and collective protest behavior (Study 3) than old-fashioned sexism. In discussing the results of this research, we connect to current insights on antecedents of collective action, and identify conclusions from our analysis that are relevant for societal and organizational policy making.     

“Are You Interested,Baby?” Young Infants Exhibit Stable Patterns of Attention During Interaction

The degree to which infants' current actions are influenced by previous action is fundamental to our understanding of early social and cognitive competence. In this study, we found that infant gazing manifested notable temporal dependencies during interaction with mother even when controlling for mother behaviors. The durations of infant gazes at mother's face were positively predicted by the durations of the two previous gazes at mother's face. Similarly, the durations of gazes away from mother's face were positively predicted by the durations of the two previous gazes of the same type. The durations of gazes at and away from mother's face, however, were not predicted by one another. This pattern suggests that infants exhibit distinct and temporally stable levels of interest in social and nonsocial features of the environment. We discuss the implications of these results for parents, for experimental research using looking time measures, and for our understanding of infants' developing communicative abilities.     

Whiteness and national identity: teacher discourses in Australian primary schools

The study examines how white teachers talked to children about national identity and cultural diversity by drawing on qualitative research with eight- to 12-year-old students and their teachers from four Australian primary schools with different racial, ethnic and cultural demographics. Despite a range of explicit and implicit approaches that fostered different levels of critique among students, teachers often communicated Australian national identity as commensurate to white racial and Anglo-Australian cultural identity. We identified three main approaches teachers used to talk about national identity and cultural diversity: cultural essentialism, race elision and a quasi-critical approach. We conclude that the wider education system needs to develop a more formal curriculum structure that guides teachers in developing a better awareness of the power of white normativity, and to critically and explicitly counter discourse and practice that centres whiteness as foundational to dominant conceptualisations of national identity.     

Towards Reconceptualizing Political Action*

The discipline of sociology faces important challenges that may result in a transformation of the field. For example, the practice of specialization potentially takes on a new meaning in the context of growing interdisciplinary studies, the growth of feminist scholarship, and renewed efforts at micro-macro linkages. In essence, more comprehensive accounts of social phenomena are made possible as a result of these trends. This paper examines the way in which such approaches may lead to advances in the study of political action.     

Charles S. Johnson’s the Negro in Chicago

Charles S. Johnson’s classic study of the Chicago race riot of 1919,The Negro in Chicago, can provide contemporary social scientists with valuable historical insight into urban race relations and a model of methodological comprehensiveness. This review of Johnson’s study suggests the influence of the Chicago School of Sociology and especially of Robert Park on its methodological and conceptual framework. In contrast to the tendency of many recent studies of black urban communities to maintain a narrow theoretical and empirical focus,The Negro in Chicago draws on a wide array of types of data and uses an organic metaphor to suggest the complex interrelatedness of urban residents in the many contexts of their daily lives.     

The impact of policy measures and coaching on the availability and accessibility of early child care: A longitudinal study

We conducted a study of changes in the availability, accessibility and enrolment of children from low‐income, single‐parent and ethnic minority families in early child care centres. The study was carried out in Brussels which offers unique possibilities to study accessibility in a context in which quality and costs are controlled across centres. A survey on access policies in 89 day care centres, and on 150 mothers regarding their search process, was complemented by two focus groups attended by centre directors. The results were compared with data from a similar study we conducted in 2005. The results show that while inequality in availability has remained, centre directors' awareness of social priority criteria has changed, resulting in a significant increase in the enrolment of children from single‐parent and ethnic minority families, and – to a lesser extent – an increase in the enrolment of children from low‐income families. The results support the hypothesis that policy measures, combined with support, can influence inequalities in enrolment rates.     

Till Marriage Do Us Part: Adult Children’s Relationships With Their Parents

Although some emphasize the integrative character of marriage, others argue that marriage undermines relations with extended kin, including aging parents. Utilizing NSFH data (N= 6,108), we find that married women and men have less intense intergenerational ties than the never married and the divorced: The married are less likely to live with parents, stay in touch, and give or receive emotional, financial, and practical help. These differences hold even when we control for structural characteristics, including time demands, needs and resources, and demographic and extended family characteristics. We conclude that marriage is a greedy institution for both women and men. Given the inadequacy of structural explanations, we suggest that cultural explanations for this greediness should be explored.