A Cross‐Cultural Examination of the Disjuncture Between Aspirations and Expectations/Perceived Outcomes: Strain and Academic Deviance in the United States and Japan

Using comparable self‐reported survey data collected among college students in the United States (n = 502) and Japan (n = 441), this study examines a paradox of higher academic deviance among otherwise more conforming Japanese youth while revisiting the debate concerning the disjuncture between aspirations and expectations/perceived outcomes in Agnew's general strain theory (GST). Confirming the paradox, our results indicate that Japanese students are significantly more deviant academically than American students. However, contrary to the expectation of GST, but in support of past empirical studies, the higher academic deviance among the Japanese, as compared to Americans, is explained by their lower aspirations, irrespective of the levels of expectations/perceived outcomes     

Fatherhood regimes and father involvement in France and the UK

This paper contrasts and compares the institutional framework for fatherhood and father involvement and the survey evidence relating to fathers’ contribution to childcare and domestic work in the two countries. It shows that while men's contribution to such activities appears to be increasing in both France and the UK, change is slow and father involvement does not necessarily seem to correlate directly either with patterns of female labour force participation or with the support offered by the institutional framework. The authors explore the theoretical frameworks most appropriate for explaining their findings and situate them primarily in terms of Pfau-Effinger's theorization of the gender arrangement (1998, 2002, 2004). The authors conclude that while change in father involvement is slow, the introduction of statutory and organizational work–life balance measures which alter the gender order open up opportunities for negotiated change in the division of the labour in the home.     

Mindfulness, vulnerability, and love: Spiritual lessons from frail elders, earnest young pilgrims, and middle aged rockers

Gerontologists have studied religion and spirituality for almost three decades. Much of this work focuses on determining how elders' religious and spiritual beliefs and practices affect various indicators of well-being. This paper critiques many of the assumptions underlying this research and suggests alternatives to individualistic formulations of well-being. Experiences in spiritual communities of various types may help aging persons to be mindfully present to others, to recognize that all are vulnerable to the afflictions of aging and the certainty of death, and to love and care for others while working to promote justice. In this paper, I describe how my marriage to a minister enabled me to develop relationships with frail elders and young adults seeking to live faithfully. These friends have influenced my work and have helped to shape my views on my own aging.     

Feminism and Imperialism, 1890–1920: Our Anti‐Imperialist Sisters—Missing in Action from American Feminist Sociology*

This article retrieves part of our historical past to address two omissions in American feminist sociology on the subject of global imperialism. The first section addresses the inadequate attention feminist sociologists have paid to how major leaders of the women's movement responded to U.S. overseas expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It documents how these early feminists had both progressive and reactionary responses to the anti‐imperialist struggles of their era. Particular emphasis is given to how issues of race, class, and gender were interwoven in their discourses on imperialism. The second section focuses on how the writings of the most famous woman theorist and critic of imperialism during this era—Rosa Luxemburg—are virtually ignored in U.S. portrayals of feminist sociology and women founders of sociology. To address this omission, Luxemburg's theory of imperialism is examined, as well as how it has influenced contemporary global feminist works. A critical analysis of these Luxemburg‐inspired works considers their implications for understanding global imperialism today. In this way, the past is used to clarify the present.     

Sociologies of Space, Work and Organisation: From Fragments to Spatial Theory

Work organisations are made by the arrangement of space and working lives are made and lived through these spaces. Yet, explicit interest in space has been marginal to the development of sociologies of work organisation. Despite this, spatial analysis has often offered support to established theories of work and organisation. This paper reviews this contribution, excavating the spatial from past studies intended to address the labour process; semiotics and discourse; and the nature of everyday working lives. The second part of the paper emphasises the importance of making space more central to our conceptual and theoretical concerns and draws on spatial theory from social and cultural geography to do so. The paper endeavours to integrate the fragmented insights from different scholarly paradigms in the sociology of work with this spatial theory and to promote an enhanced spatial sensibility for the sociology of work and organisations. This review and fusion contributes to wider calls to develop a new sociology of work that prioritises the centrality of space to understanding work.     

Clusters and Correlates of Experiences With Parents and Peers in Early Adolescence

This study used a person‐oriented approach to examine links between adolescents' experiences with parents and peers. Cluster analysis classified 361, White, working‐ and middle‐class youth (mean age=12.16 years) based on mothers' and fathers' reports of parental acceptance and adolescents' reports of perceived peer competence. Three patterns were identified: high mother and father acceptance and high peer competence; low mother and father acceptance and high peer competence; and high mother acceptance, moderate father acceptance, and low peer competence. The groups differed with respect to youth's and parents' individual characteristics, family and peer dynamics, and youth functioning over time. Discussion focuses on the utility of a person‐oriented approach for studying parent–peer linkages in early adolescence and their implications.     

High technology organizations: Context, organization and people

Firms in global high technology industries face key challenges. This paper presents an integrative framework that delineates aspects of their context, organization and human resources. It also identifies tensions within the firm that can only be resolved by increasing the capacity of the firm to deal with multiple and conflicting pressures. High technology firms muct be adept at resolving tensions and learning in a very fast paced and changing world.     

Beyond “subjectivity”: The use of the self in social science

Insights about the observer's self can prove useful for understanding others who are the subjects of sociological inquiry. This organizational sociologist studied a midwestern lesbian community using participant observation and in depth interviewing. Subsequent problems with preparing the findings led to development of an analytic technique for dealing with the data. The argument here is that we have much to learn from close examination of the interrelationship between observer and observed.For their help in the preparation of this article, the author would like to thank Estelle Freedman, Marythelma Brainard, Nancy Chodorow, Meredith Gould, and Ann Swidler.