Characteristics of U.S. cities with extreme (high or low) crime rates: Results of discriminant analyses of 1960, 1970, and 1980 data

Why do some cities have higher or lower crime rates than others? In this study we attempt to answer this fundamental question by identifying the theoretically motivated structural covariates which differentiate U.S. cities with extreme high and low crime rates. We apply discriminant function analysis across comprehensive samples of all U.S. cities with populations of greater than 25 000 in the periods 1960, 1970, and 1980 and then posit four question: are empirical findings from regression-based studies of city crime rates replicated in discriminant studies with extreme rates? Are the covariates that predict high or low crime rates unique to specific time periods? Which covariates are better able to discriminate high or low rates for specific crimes? And are specific covariates distinguishable in crime rate changes across time periods? Among our general findings, it appears that those cities with extreme high (low) crime rates tend to be the largest (smallest), most (least) economically deprived, and most (least) socially disintegrated. Associations with these latter two characteristics appear to have grown stronger over the past three census periods. The theoretical importance of these and other findings uncovered here are discussed and interpreted through Wilson's (1987) notion of concentration effects and social isolation which may have transformed inner-city areas in recent years.     

Touch attitudes and behaviors,recollections of early childhood touch,and social self-confidence

Subjects filled out three touch attitude scales, a measure of recollections of early childhood touch, and a social competence inventory, and then proceeded to record their touches in a log for one week. The touch questionnaires, although correlated with one another, did not predict day-to-day touching as recorded in logs. However, the results also suggest that questionnaire responses (for the one recall measure and two attitude scales) and log records are each independently predictive of social self-confidence. These findings are interpreted to mean that both positive attitudes/remembrances about touch and active engagement in touch behavior are important elements in social competence. Implications for future research are discussed, including the suggestion that the possible effects of skills training in touch on tactile attitudes, touch communication practices, and social self-esteem should be investigated.Stanley E. Jones is professor of Communication at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Brandi C. Brown is amagna cum laude honors B.A. graduate of the same institution who now resides in Nashville, TN.     

An Experimental Analysis of Children's Dislike of Aggressors and Victims

We experimentally examined social contextual factors that might moderate children's dislike for aggressors and for victims of aggression, by varying both the aggressor's behavior (aggressive toward multiple children versus aggressive only toward one child) and the victim's behavior (passive versus assertive). Children (117 male and female fourth to sixth graders) listened to one of four scenarios describing the experiences of boys at a summer camp and rated how much they liked the aggressor, the victim, and the other children in the scenario; children also reported how much they thought the aggressor, victim, and others liked each other. Overall, and consistent with previous research, children disliked aggressors the most, followed by victims and then by the other children in the scenarios. Importantly, children's liking was influenced by the social context in which the aggression occurred, particularly in regards to how the victim responded. Aggressors (general or focused) were liked more if their victim was assertive rather than nonassertive. Furthermore, children liked nonassertive victims less than assertive victims, particularly a nonassertive victim in response to a general aggressor. Inferred liking among the group members also was dependent on the social context of the provocation. This research highlights the need to consider aggression as more than a set of behaviors. Aggression is a social event embedded within a social context and interpersonal relationships must be considered.     

Transforming communication,transforming business: Stimulating value negotiation for more responsive and responsible workplaces

If commercial corporations are to stay economically viable and the general society is to stay healthy, corporate decisions must be even more responsive to rapidly changing environments and stakeholder needs and responsible in increasingly complex and interdependent social contexts. The dominant economic conception of corporations and the accompanying emphasis on profitability, value-neutral rationality, and managerial control is increasingly problematic. Public values have a right of representation in corporate decisions but current means of representation through the marketplace and through governmental guidance are limited in effect. Replacing the economic conception with a stakeholder model recognizing multiple forms of ownership and enabling wide-spread participation can help initiate important value debate leading to both economic and social benefits. But even with more stakeholder participation, value debate has not and will not necessary resulted. Many new programs have increased the number offorums in which representation and debate could occur, but have not increasedvoice. Richer conceptions of communication, negotiation, and rationality are necessary if we are to reform corporations in significant ways.     

Multiple forms of violence and other criminal activities as an indicator of severe child maltreatment

Child protection practice still appears to view child maltreatment as an event largely isolated from other family violence and criminal activities. Research undertaken by the authors suggests that children who have been subjected to the more severe forms of abuse are likely to have come from families who engage in several forms of criminal activity, inside and outside the family, which is often severe in nature. The child who has been maltreated may also become a participant in these activities. The authors recommend that these factors should be investigated in families who have maltreated a child, as the presence or absence of several forms of concurrent violence and other criminal activity may provide an important clue about the welfare of the child. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

欧洲历史中劳动问题的研究

尽管人们对劳动的历史及欧洲历史中的劳动问题多有研究,但劳动问题仍然需要更为清晰的阐述。最初,人们视劳动为苦力和负担,而在基督教义中,劳动集诅咒和祝福于一身。正好在宗教改革运动之前,劳动开始与富裕和幸福联系在一起,懒惰则与贫穷和邪恶相联系。欧洲的171、8世纪是重大变革加速进行的时期,从那时起,现代的、普遍的劳动概念占据了上风。进入19世纪,启蒙运动将劳动、教育和人的尊严相联系,这成了资产阶级和无产阶级意识中的重要动力。工业化以及随之相伴的城市化使得劳动成为谋生的主要手段,劳动在社会、政治和文化方面越来越重要。如今我们正处于重大变革的中途。从整体上讲,劳动的意义正在缩小,劳动本身正在变化,但劳动发展的新动向仍处于迷雾之中。