Empowering Rural Sociology: Exploring and Linking Alternative Paradigms in Theory and Methodology1

Abstract Theoretical and methodological approaches to rural social change are explored, especially those that give visibility to the range of heterogeneous experiences and perspectives that often are overlooked or ignored. Theoretical developments in postmodern, narrative, and feminist theory are described as are the methodological approaches they imply. Examples of research on rural social change that attempt to integrate theory and methods in ways that respect the complicated, processual nature of social life are discussed. They provide concrete illustrations of how alternative approaches can be fruitfully applied to some of the issues and problems rural sociologists typically study.     

Work‐Family Enrichment and Conflict: Additive Effects,Buffering, or Balance?

We used data from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS I) (N = 2,031) to compare three models of how work‐family conflict and enrichment might operate to predict well‐being (mental health, life satisfaction, affect balance, partner relationship quality). We found no support for a relative‐difference model in which the conflict‐enrichment balance predicted outcomes. In the work‐to‐family direction, the additive model fit best: Both work‐to‐family conflict and work‐to‐family enrichment were independently linked to outcomes. In the family‐to‐work direction, the interactive model fit best: Family‐to‐work enrichment buffered the negative outcomes ordinarily linked to family‐to‐work conflict. Enrichment is key because with the additive model, it contributed incremental explanatory power, and with the buffering model, it conditioned conflict‐outcome relationships. Work‐to‐family conflict and family‐to‐work enrichment appeared particularly salient for well‐being.     

And Neither Are We Saved: Asian Americans' Elusive Quest for Racial Justice

Derrick Bell, Civil Rights activist, legal scholar, and a founder of critical race theory, dedicated much of his life and scholarship to the pursuit of racial justice. Twenty‐six years ago, in his work And We Are Not Saved, he recognized that racial progress has been stalled and racial equality would not be a reality in his lifetime. Bell passed away in October 2011, and we are reminded that there is still much work to do. He presented a conundrum that race scholars have said all there is to say about racial problems in the United States; yet, he encouraged scholars to keep moving the work forward. At the time And We Are Not Saved was written, much of the racial scholarship was centered on the Black–White paradigm. In the 26 years since Bell wrote it, there has been a growth of Asian American research. This essay surveys some critical racial analysis of Asian Americans. There have been major contributions to the literature extending racial scholarship beyond the Black–White paradigm. Additionally, intersectional scholarship extends the discussion into other systems of oppression, highlighting how racism can be veiled in different systems. Critical race scholarship is imperative to keep Bell's dream of racial equality alive.     

Duration of Accrual and Follow-up for Two-Stage Clinical Trials

Group sequential trialswith time to event end points can be complicated to design. Notonly are there unlimited choices for the number of events requiredat each stage, but for each of these choices, there are unlimitedcombinations of accrual and follow-up at each stage that providethe required events. Methods are presented for determining optimalcombinations of accrual and follow-up for two-stage clinicaltrials with time to event end points. Optimization is based onminimizing the expected total study length as a function of theexpected accrual duration or sample size while providing an appropriateoverall size and power. Optimal values of expected accrual durationand minimum expected total study length are given assuming anexponential proportional hazards model comparing two treatmentgroups. The expected total study length can be substantiallydecreased by including a follow-up period during which accrualis suspended. Conditions that warrant an interim follow-up periodare considered, and the gain in efficiency achieved by includingan interim follow-up period is quantified. The gain in efficiencyshould be weighed against the practical difficulties in implementingsuch designs. An example is given to illustrate the use of thesetechniques in designing a clinical trial to compare two chemotherapyregimens for lung cancer. Practical considerations of includingan interim follow-up period are discussed.     

Paddock Rites: Integrative Ritual in the Racing Community*

This paper explores a focal ritual in the community of horseracing known as the paddock. Using data gathered through participant observation, the author interprets the paddock ritual within the context of the racing community and its status hierarchy. The ritual integrates members of the racing community in relation to their social prestige and thus contributes to the social order. The paddock accomplishes this integrative function by according marginal members of the racing community temporary public recognition and acknowledgement of their contributions, both of which mitigate the alienation these individuals routinely experience.     

Explaining trends in child support: Economic,demographic, and policy effects

We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine trends in the receipt of child support (and the determinants of trends) between 1968 and 1997. The findings suggest that political, demographic, and economic forces all exerted downward pressure on child-support payments during this 30-year period, with inflation, the shift to unilateral divorce, and declines in fertility and men's earnings being more important during the earlier years and decreases in men's earnings being more important during the later years. These negative forces were offset by the passage of new child-support legislation in the 1980s and 1990s, including numeric guidelines, universal withholding, and genetic testing.     

Coordination,Fragmentation and Definitions of Need: The New Under Fives Initiative and Homeless Families

SUMMARY. This article links together the broad coordination debate within the early years field, and how children's needs are conceptualised and defined. It does this in conjunction with an examination of the government's new Under Fives Initiative and the situation of the homeless families that some of the voluntary projects funded under the Initiative are intended to reach. For homeless families, mothers' more holistic perceptions of their children's needs are revealed as providing a good basis for coordination within and between sectors, as opposed to policy, agency and professional definitions of their needs. The latter are being forged and reformulated in the context of increasing service fragmentation, as well as short term government funding for the voluntary sector. Coherence in definitions of needs could provide a pragmatic response to such changes in service provision and funding.     

Ideology Formation: a Linear Structural Model of the Influences on Feminist Ideology*

Three models of ideology formation are presented as possible explanations for support of feminist attitudes. The simplest is a one-step model positing a direct connection between social structural variables and ideology. The second, using the race relations literature, adds social psychological transformation mechanisms, and the third adds peer support. The models were tested on a sample of women drawn from a small mid-western city. Step-wise regressions were computed with tests for the increment in R². The second model held for married women; the full model only held for single women; but when peers are entered between the social structural and the social psychological groups, the full model holds both for single and married women.     

Evaluation of Methods for Assessing the Oral Bioavailability of Inorganic Mercury in Soil

The risks associated with environmental exposures to inorganic mercury are typically assessed based on toxicity studies conducted with the soluble salt, mercuric chloride (HgCl₂). Evidence indicates, however, that inorganic mercury is present in soil as a variety of compounds and that oral absorption of inorganic mercury decreases with a decrease in the solubility of the mercury compound being studied. Thus, while HgCl₂ is approximately 15–20% bioavailable, the bioavailability of cinnabar (HgS) may be 30- to 60-fold less. The solubility and, hence, bioavailability of inorganic mercury in soil is expected to be substantially less than that of HgCl₂ due to the presence of less soluble compounds and their interactions with soil constituents. Quantification of this difference in bioavailability is important in assessing potential risks associated with exposure to mercury-containing soil. A review of available studies supports the expectation that mercury bioavailability in soils will be reduced. This paper reviews methods for assessing soil metal absorption with consideration of the characteristics of the oral absorption of elemental and inorganic mercury that should be evaluated in designing additional studies. Because of the very slow elimination of mercury in some species, it is recommended that a repeated-dose study be conducted. Such a study would yield an estimate of relative bioavailability based on a comparison of tissue mercury concentrations in animals ingesting soil with those of animals receiving HgCl₂. The dose, age, gender, and species of animal selected are not expected to affect relative bioavailability estimates; however, it is recommended that studies be conducted in two animal species. Rats should be used because they have been used in many studies of mercury absorption and toxicity. A species of large animals such as monkeys, swine, or dogs should also be used to provide confirmation in a species with greater similarities to humans in gastrointestinal physiology and anatomy. Other critical factors in designing these studies, such as selection and characterization of soil samples, are also addressed.