The typification of Hispanics as criminals and support for punitive crime control policies

The Hispanic population is now the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States, so it is not surprising that ethnic threat linked to Hispanics has been associated with harsher crime control. While minority threat research has found that individuals who associate blacks with crime are more likely to support harsh criminal policies, the possibility that this relationship exists for those who typify Hispanics as criminal has yet to be examined. Using a national random sample, this study is the first to use HLM to find that perceptions of Hispanics as criminals do increase support for punitive crime control measures, controlling for various individual and state influences. Moderated and contextual analyses indicate this relationship is most applicable for individuals who are less apt to typify criminals as black, less prejudiced, less fearful of victimization, politically liberal or moderate, not parents, and living in states with relatively fewer Latin American immigrants.     

Close but not committed? The multiple dimensions of relational embeddedness

This research addresses the complexity of embedded inter-firm ties. Based on both qualitative and quantitative data from field research in the computer motherboard manufacturing industry, this paper investigates the origins of close ties and committed relationships, and explores the relationships between these two dimensions of embedded inter-firm relationships. The results show that companies establish close relationships with their partners to resolve coordination uncertainty due to a high level of task interdependence in their exchanges, and that firms become more collaboratively committed when they seek to alter a disadvantaged power asymmetry. At the same time, the fieldwork found an underlying conflict between the embeddedness dimensions of closeness and commitment: too much closeness reduces a partner’s commitment. These findings have significant implications for the formation of embedded corporate ties as well as the effects of embeddedness on organizations.     

Education and religion: Individual, congregational, and cross-level interaction effects on biblical literalism

Using ideas from cultural and organizational theory, I examine the interplay of individual and congregation-level educational attainment on biblical literalism. Data on 387 congregations and 100,009 worshippers (US Congregational Life Survey, 2001) are used to test hypotheses. Results indicate that the effects of congregational education and individual educational attainment are among the largest effects in models. This study is the first to show that regardless of an individual’s own education, affirmations of biblical literalism are less likely when persons with higher education dominate a congregation. This finding brings into relief the important role of social context in persons’ belief in biblical literalism. Additionally, congregational education amplifies the influence of individual education on biblical literalism such that the gap in belief between college/non-college education individuals widens in high education congregations. This finding suggests that high education persons more deeply absorb the influence of a more educated congregational context.     

人情社会与契约社会——基于社会交换理论的视角

人情社会与契约社会是社会交换的两种基本类型,人情社会的交换属于延时回报的交换、模糊回报的交换、熟人社会的交换、依靠道德约束的交换、特殊主义的交换;契约社会的交换则具有陌生人社会的交换、协商一致的交换、精确的交换、依靠法规约束的交换、普遍主义的交换等特点。两者既有联系又有多方面的区别。根据人情社会形成的原因,可以将其分作情感需求型、风险防范型、不当求利型三种类型。只有消除不当求利型人情社会,使人情社会仅在情感领域、契约社会在利益领域发挥其功能,我国才能从以人情社会为主导的社会转变为以契约社会为主导的社会。     

社会管理创新的几个问题

社会管理创新已经作为一项重大的时代主题提出来了,社会管理涉及的一系列基本问题需要进行理论上的廓清。不能将社会管理等同于行政管理,社会管理创新不是实施全面控制,社会管理与危机管理是有区别的,也不能将社会管理理解为社会服务,还应正确处理好社会管理的"管"和"建"的关系。     

论聚众淫乱罪的刑事立法——以无被害人犯罪为研究视角

聚众淫乱罪属于无被害人犯罪的一种类型。我国刑法中聚众淫乱罪分为公然与秘密两种类型。从无被害人犯罪的角度,秘密的聚众淫乱行为入罪不具备法益侵害性、不符合刑法谦抑性、不符合社会需要和民意,应当除罪化。公然的聚众淫乱符合犯罪的本质,应当犯罪化。并且二人的公然淫乱也应当入罪。     

试论双回路维稳模型

社会领域也存在某种惯性趋势,即社会趋稳性。这一概念的提出旨在说明,一切不稳定的产生,必定是受到某种作用力的结果。而社会趋稳性与变动力量的结合,便会造成不同程度的反作用力。这种反弹行为在实践中很容易被界定为＂不稳定因素＂。由于维稳的主客体都是人,而＂人是需求动物＂,所以,维稳的具体政策若不能够融入人的思考、理解及感情,将很难实现人际有效的沟通,进而妨碍动态稳定的实现。以组织平衡理论、需求层次理论、安全阀理论及组织学习理论为基础的双回路维稳模型的提出,旨在强调人类需求、基本秩序以及自然法则在维稳中的关键作用。     

社会团体的三个面向与社会管理职能的发挥

发挥社会组织在社会管理领域的各项职能,对于创新社会管理具有十分重要的意义。以社会团体为例,它在社会管理领域的主要职能来源于三个面向,即:面向会员———规范会员行为,促进行业自律;面向公众———提供公共服务,促进资源整合配置;面向政府和其他团体———促进利益协商与对话,参与公共决策。在此过程中,社会团体对于激发社会活力、增加社会和谐因素、减少社会不和谐因素等发挥着重要的作用。当前,为促进社会团体的发展,调整政府与社会团体的关系、加大政策和资金的扶持力度是十分必要的。     

社会转型与少数民族价值观变迁:以西南地区为例

从西南少数民族历史发展进程来看,其生活环境相对封闭,从而对少数民族成员的自我与他者认同构成了影响,形成特定的制度体系、交往体系和价值体系。但随着改革开放和社会转型的推进,少数民族的价值观体系也发生了变化,具体表现在价值主体、价值运行以及身份认知三个层次上,它们共同促进了少数民族的认同序列重构。     

新生代农民工城市融入中的社会认同考量

社会认同在新生代农民工的城市融入中至关重要.相比较第一代农民工,新生代农民工在务农经历、教育程度、职业期望、物质和精神要求、市民化意愿等方面有鲜明的群体特征.但目前社会认同困境阻碍着他们的市民化进程,主要表现为制度制约、自身地位制约、社会关系网络制约等.摆脱这一困境,需要政府创造良好环境,城市居民宽容接纳,新生代农民工积极提高自身素质及劳动技能等.只有达到了身份认同、城市认同和自我认同相统一,他们在城市才能感受到“主人翁”归属感,从而加速我国城市化进程.