The Functional Theory of Stratification: a Test of Some Structural Hypotheses*

A review of previous attempts to test hypotheses derived from the functional theory of stratification suggests that to test the theory as formulated by Davis and Moore, the unit of analysis must be the position rather than the individual: indices of the theoretical concepts must be measures of the stratification structure itself rather than perceptions of that structure: and a universe or representative sample of positions must be used to determine if the relationships specified by the theory are applicable throughout a society's labor force. This paper reports a test of the functional theory that attempts to meet these specifications. Three related models are deduced from the theory and tested: (a) a model in which functional importance and change in skill are presumed to antecede change in reward and change in prestige; (b) a second model in which the dependent variables are additionally influenced by the interaction of functional importance and change in skill; and (c) a third model in which possible reciprocal effects of functional importance and skill are estimated using longitudinal data. The predictions of the functional theory concerning the effects of functional importance are not supported by the data.     

Labour shortages and employability: A European and international approach

Labour shortages combined with persistent large–scale unemployment are attracting increasing attention from actors and observers in the economic and social sectors. Shortages appear to be the effect on the employment market of a rapid economic revival after years of crisis and unemployment, indicating a mismatch between labour supply and demand. Basically, they result from either the absence of a potential reserve of economically inactive labour, or the inadequate employability of some of those actively employed. This article aims to provide a global view of the situation as it affects particularly those European Union countries which are most attuned to the problem. It describes the shortages in these various countries, their main causes, and the approaches, either envisaged or already implemented, to remedying them.     

Space, Time, Space-Time and Society

This paper discusses the concept spacetime in the context of some traditional notions of space and time in sociological and anthropological literature. The paper argues that the concept of spacetime, together with other post-Newtonian insights, can provide a useful metaphor with which to interpret societal phenomena. The paper concludes by illustrating the argument with a brief review of the ethnohistory of a Caribbean territory.     

Differentials in demographic responses to annual price variations in pre-revolutionary France

An examination of the annual responses of vital events to variations in wheat prices among groups of parishes in the city of Rouen from 1681 to 1787 reveals significant differences between rich and poor parishes in the strength of the preventive check. The urban poor respond to a price increase by dramatically decreasing fertility, while the fertility of the urban wealthy is virtually unaffected. An increase in prices is associated with relatively large increases in mortality, suggesting a strong positive check. However, little difference can be found between the rich and poor areas in the magnitude or timing of mortality responses to price variations.     

Viability of Congregation as a religious indicator

The search for religious indicators of change narrows to focus upon the individual congregation. The Viability of Congregation (VOC) is an indicator of participation within the association. This indicator finds equal applicability to denominational churches as well as cults and sects. The VOC contains no built-in value bias and is simplified to the degree that laymen may apply and evaluate it. This indicator was tested in three congregations where Shippey's construct of Perceived Effectiveness had also been applied. The VOC consistently elaborates the PE index and offers specific advantages in application as well.     

Toward an Ecological–Evolutionary Theory of the Incidence of Warfare in Preindustrial Societies

Prompted by the lack of attention by sociologists and the challenge of materialist explanations of warfare in "precivilized" societies posed by Keeley (1996), this paper tests and finds support for two materialist hypotheses concerning the likelihood of warfare in preindustrial societies: specifically, that, as argued by ecological–evolutionary theory, dominant mode of subsistence is systematically related to rates of warfare; and that, within some levels of technological development, higher levels of "population pressure" are associated with a greater likelihood of warfare. Using warfare measures developed by Ember and Ember (1995), measures of subsistence technology originally developed by Lenski (1966, 1970), and the standard sample of societies developed by Murdock and White (1969), this study finds evidence that warfare is more likely in advanced horticultural and agrarian societies than it is in hunting–and–gathering and simple horticultural societies, and that it is also more likely in hunting–and–gathering and agrarian societies that have above–average population densities. These findings offer substantial support for ecological–evolutionary theory and qualified but intriguing support for "population pressure" as explanations of cross–cultural variation in the likelihood of warfare.