A Window on the 'New' Sociology of Childhood

This article is intended as a window on the body of research that has come to be known as the 'new sociology of childhood'. To elucidate its underlying tenets I identify three major weaknesses that scholars in the 'new' sociology find in the 'old' conceptualization – socialization – and discuss implications for doing research on children and childhood. I suggest that scholars in the United States are on a somewhat different path than their colleagues in other Western countries. Finally, I argue that the view that children are not yet members of their societies is one that is difficult to undermine.     

Gender and the Transmission of Civic Engagement: Assessing the Influences on Youth Civic Activity*

The study of civic activity has become a central focus for many social scientists over the past decade, generating considerable research and debate. Previous studies have largely overlooked the role of youth socialization into civic life, most notably in the settings of home and school. Further, differences along gender lines in civic capacity have not been given sufficient attention in past studies. This study adds to the literature by examining the potential pathways in the development of youth civic activity and potential, utilizing both gender‐neutral and gender‐specific structural equation modeling of data from the 1996 National Household Education Survey. Results indicate that involvement by parents in their child’s schooling plays a crucial, mediating role in the relationship between adult and youth civic activity. Gender differences are minimal; thus adult school involvement is crucial for transmitting civic culture from parents to both female and male youth.     

Cultural Intermediaries and the Media

This article provides an introduction to, and makes a case for, cultural intermediaries as an entry point for the study of media and cultural production. We offer a strategic parsing of the conceptual foundations provided by Bourdieu with regard to cultural intermediaries and the media, loosely organized in terms of where they are located (working in media); the means of accomplishing their role (working with media); and their economic role in promoting consumption (the work of mediation). We then follow the translation of the concept from Bourdieu to a cultural economy approach that is concerned with the material practices involved in the formation of value. A review and comparison of substantive findings from a range of cultural economic case studies of cultural intermediary occupations serves as an introduction to a three-fold approach that might guide future studies of occupations in cultural industries, in terms of: historicizing occupations, material practices, and assessments of impact. Finally, we conclude with a claim for the utility of ‘cultural intermediaries’ as a way to think about cultural production, and highlight areas in which work remains to be done.     

Analysis of familial aggregation in the presence of varying family sizes

Summary.  Family studies are frequently undertaken as the first step in the search for genetic and/or environmental determinants of disease. Significant familial aggregation of disease is suggestive of a genetic aetiology for the disease and may lead to more focused genetic analysis. Of course, it may also be due to shared environmental factors. Many methods have been proposed in the literature for the analysis of family studies. One model that is appealing for the simplicity of its computation and the conditional interpretation of its parameters is the quadratic exponential model. However, a limiting factor in its application is that it is not reproducible , meaning that all families must be of the same size. To increase the applicability of this model, we propose a hybrid approach in which analysis is based on the assumption of the quadratic exponential model for a selected family size and combines a missing data approach for smaller families with a marginalization approach for larger families. We apply our approach to a family study of colorectal cancer that was sponsored by the Cancer Genetics Network of the National Institutes of Health. We investigate the properties of our approach in simulation studies. Our approach applies more generally to clustered binary data.     

Discrete Scale Models for Survival–Sacrifice Experiments

Analyses of carcinogenicity experiments involving occult (hidden) tumours are usually based on cause-of-death information or the results of many interim sacrifices. A simple compartmental model is described that does not involve the cause of death. The method of analysis requires only one interim sacrifice, in addition to the usual terminal kill, to ensure that the tumour incidence rates can be estimated. One advantage of the approach is demonstrated in the analysis of glomerulosclerosis following exposure to ionizing radiation. Although the semiparametric model involves fewer parameters, estimates of key functions derived in this analysis are similar to those obtained previously by using a nonparametric method that involves many more parameters.     

Gerontological research on the quality of life: The Guelph satellite method

This paper describes an interdisciplinary research strategy designed to address gaps in research on the quality of life of older people. We propose that such gaps be addressed through small intensive studies, and that the limitations of such studies be addressed by combining them in phases with a panel approach in the form of “satellite” studies. The emphasis is on the intensive studies as an integral rather than a subsidiary part of the strategy, and on the panel as a vehicle for the satellite studies. As an illustration of the strategy, we describe a project in which the satellite studies focus on intensive examination of specific topics such as family relationships and the panel method employs interviews and questionnaires to collect baseline information and quality of life ratings. We then focus on methodological issues, such as participant selection and the sequencing of phases, and briefly compare the present strategy to other longitudinal approaches. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the methodological and substantive advantages of the strategy.     

NORM ENFORCEMENT: ANGER,INDIGNATION, OR RECIPROCITY?

The enforcement of social norms often requires that unaffected third parties sanction offenders. Given the renewed interest of economists in norms, the literature on third‐party punishment is surprisingly thin. In this paper, we report the results of an experiment designed to replicate the anger‐based punishment of directly affected second parties and evaluate two distinct explanations for third‐party punishment: indignation and group reciprocity. We find evidence in favor of both, with the caveat that the incidence of indignation‐driven sanctions is perhaps smaller than earlier studies have hinted. Furthermore, our results suggest that second parties use sanctions to promote conformism while third parties intervene primarily to promote efficiency.     

Lessons from history: Surviving old age during The Great Depression in the United States

This paper focuses on 30 couples who received a pension and other services from two private trusts in Detroit, Michigan beginning in 1929 or 1930. Results of the qualitative analysis of case files, which contain notes recorded chronologically for 17 of the couples and then surviving spouses, provide a portrait of older couples' lives prior to a partner's death, circumstances surrounding the death, and changes in the social support systems of widows and widowers until their deaths. Close examination of the experiences of these couples is a reminder of how old age and widowhood were experienced prior to the enactment of public pensions and health insurance in the United States.