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This paper describes a procedure for facilitating the generation of theory useful to family sociologists. This procedure is based upon a linguistic model, and it utilizes the metaphor of literary genre as a guide. A distinction is made between the construction and the generation of sociological theory. The suggestion is made that the generation perspective may enhance the ability of theorists to find subtle interconnections among phenomena and thereby to extend fields of sociological knowledge along novel paths. The procedure itself depends first upon the construction of a binary lexicon. One such lexicon consists of one matrix of concepts describing social structure from the perspective of stabilization of social relations and a complementary matrix describing structure from the perspective of destabilization. From these matrices, one concept is chosen as a metonym or as a metaphor to act as a basis for deriving connections among the other concepts in the matrices. The manipulation of concepts from both matrices permits the development of propositions suggesting ironies and contradictions in social relations. Examples of the use of this procedure are presented, and some unresolved problems are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between modernization and female crime rates and tests a model which incorporates female participation in various social roles as an intervening variable. Modernization is predicted to have positive, direct effects on female property crime, as well as positive, indirect effects through female role participation. Data from approximately forty countries were analyzed using correlational and regression techniques. The results offer little support for the general model. GNP/cap exhibits positive, direct effects on female theft and fraud but only minor indirect effects. The net effects of the several female role-participation variables are generally small. Differences by type of female crime are examined and several possible explanations for the results are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to develop a macro social systems model devoid of the many problems which plagued functionalism. I eschew concepts such as equilibrium, survival, and functional prerequisite. Instead of societal survival I utilize the more general notion of level of living (L) and attempt to derive macro correlates of L. These are the society's population size, spatial area, organization, technology, and information level. Interrelationships among the variables are analyzed, as are aggregated and distributional measures of the variables. Compared to prior formulations this framework is relatively comprehensive, facilitates the analysis of variable primacy, incorporates both ideational and materialistic components, and provides a macro context for the analysis of individual action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociology has fractured into a number of schools, each claiming to be distinct from the others and to have its own theory. The trouble with the theories is that most of them fail to make their general propositions explicit. Were they made explicit, all the theories would turn out to contain at least the general propositions of behavioral psychology, and the intellectual unification of sociology could begin. The paper discusses the reasons why many sociologists are reluctant to accept this argument. It also discusses other claimants to the status of theory, including "pattern" theories, functional theories (one of which is really behavioral), and the difficulties created by some uses of the concept, social structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a macro level model for analyzing the creation of deviance rules. We begin by placing the phenomenon within the context of the social factist and social definitionist sociological traditions, identifying the insights and difficulties the social problems literature presents for explaining deviance rule creation. We suggest that the theoretical difficulties can be resolved by placing the process within a sociology of knowledge framework. The consequent dialectical model of deviance designation is based on the assumption that society is composed of a number of general interests in varying degrees of conflict with prevailing definitions of deviance representing outcomes of previous contests. This balance or accommodation becomes vulnerable with the introduction or increase in strain which is a potential resource for interest groups desiring a new definition. The outcome of the ensuing conflict is seen as dependent on the ability of the combatants to employ resources in the battle. We conclude by identifying the advantages the model has for studying the deviance rule creation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relative deprivation perspective was widely employed in the social movement literature :of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In spite of the growing popularity of some newer approaches which criticize the relative deprivation perspective (resource mobilization or resource management perspectives), there have been no attempts to analyze 'and evaluate the relative deprivation perspective in any systematic fashion. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the "classic" relative deprivation literature in order to critically assess the perspective on the basis of its theoretical coherence and clarity and its empirical validity. The general conclusion reached is that while the relative deprivation perspective was an advance over earlier approaches which viewed social movements as resulting from the expression of irrational impulses, the relative deprivation perspective is itself affected by too many serious conceptual, theoretical, and empirical weaknesses to be useful in accounting for the emergence and development of social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on papers written by the sociologists Michael Aiken, Kenneth Land and James McCartney which are bound by a common thread of being philosophical and practical reflections on the basic objective of sociology. All three writers make broad judgments about whether the evolution of the discipline and profession has resulted in more clearly defined boundaries and whether the expansion of the domains of sociology will strengthen the discipline and profession.

This paper examines the negotiation of young unmarried women's sexual identities in the cultural context of an innercity Chicano community. Previous work often views the unmarried mother status as unproblematic, that is, as deviant or as equal to a married mother. Values are assumed to determine directly the evaluation of the status of unwed mother, and motherhood is viewed as an instrumental action. This analysis of premarital sex and motherhood suggests that motherhood plays an expressive role and that the evaluation of a young woman's sexual identity is not directly determined by her becoming premaritally pregnant and an unwed mother, but her identity is negotiated. In this negotiation process traditional values are blurred and changed. Here nonuse of birth control cannot be explained by lack of information or irrationality but must be understood as part of the process of developing a sexual identity within a particular cultural context. The relationship between behavior and identity is viewed as problematic and the construction and symbolization of this relationship in a public dialogue is the concern of this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costner (1965) showed that many of the most commonly used measures of association may be conceptually interpreted as indicating proportional reduction in prediction error. But because it is verbally cumbersome, and conceptually complex for some measures, the proportional reduction in error interpretation has not been widely incorporated in research reports where appropriate. Instead, measures of association continue to be interpreted in abstract terms distinguishing between broad levels of strength. This paper demonstrates that all proportional reduction in error measures of association may be alternately interpreted as indicating the percent of variation explained. Because this interpretation is conceptually meaningful in a manner highly relevant for scientific investigation, more convenient to apply in research reports, and already familiar to most social scientists, it is argued that it be standardly applied to all proportional reduction in error measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the correlates of religiosity among blacks and whites, asking two questions: (1) Is the relationship between SES and religious attendance the same for both races? (2) What factors best predict church attendance among both races? The findings show that (1) SES is positively related to religious participation among whites; (2) the best non-religious predictors of attendance across all denominations and churches studied are SES and age; (3) including a measure of religious belief greatly increases the explanatory power of a predictive model; but (4) the relationship between SES and attendance varies by denomination and church among blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of social class, occupational experiences, and a variety of stratification factors on the ranking of a set of important life goals. Based on a national sample of Canadians from 1977, the findings indicate modest class differences in the evaluation of four "self-actualization" values. Specifically, middle class respondents rank "self-development," "achievement," and "activism" as more important than do working class respondents. There are no significant differences on the fourth concern, "independence." Multi-variate analysis reveals that the class differences in values are wholly attributable to differences in occupational experiences and educational training in the two class groupings. These findings are consistent with Kohn's thesis of "class and conformity." Additional controls on a set of stratification factors—sex, income, age, and language group (English/French)—suggest almost no differences between dominant and subordinate groups in the ranking of the four values. Only age has a significant influence, with the young rating self-actualization as more important than the old. The implications of these results for the study of dominant values and ideology and for the relationship between social inequality and values are briefly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintenance, an important concept in the organizational literature, is often assumed to be a key factor in the low levels of sensitivity to client needs and demands apparent in many human service organizations. This paper uses data from a national sample of juvenile courts to demonstrate, however, that maintenance may relate to other variables in ways that are at variance with the common assumption. The maintenance of internal organizational operations is bound closely to the development of ties to the community; as a result, strong emphasis on maintenance actually leads to high levels of sensitivity to clients when certain environmental forces demand it. This positive relation is especially strong when organizations are highly vulnerable to external pressures. Such results suggest a contingent view of the role of maintenance in organizations and imply some further directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory about the relationship of gender roles to delinquency illustrates the taken-forgranted assumption that as role expectations of people become more alike, their behavior becomes more similar. This paper tests the hypothesis that delinquency of androgynous and undifferentiated males and females is more similar in frequency than that of traditional males and females. Self-reported delinquency and self-ratings on scales of traditionally feminine and traditionally masculine expectations provide the data for this research. The analysis reveals that, as predicted, androgynous and undifferentiated males and females report more similar frequencies of delinquent behavior than do traditionally masculine males and traditionally feminine females. Undifferentiated respondents report the highest levels of delinquency among females, but the reverse pattern tends to hold for males. These patterns are analyzed and their importance for theory of gender and crime is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While health, itself, is the central concept in the sociology of health, little agreement exists on what constitutes an appropriate definition of health. This paper develops two composite health status measures (one continuous summary measure, and one set of eight discrete health state measures) based on the World Health Organization's conceptualization of the physical, social, and psychological dimensions of health. Data from a 1978 regional survey demonstrates the continuous summary measure's reliability (alpha = .70), and validity (factor analytic support for the hypothesized dimensions). The results also indicate that although either of the comprehensive measures significantly increase the goodness of fit of structural models of health service utilization, the set of discrete health state measures increases more the goodness of fit, bringing the explained variance of physician visits up from 16 percent to 30 percent. The magnitude of the increments clearly demonstrates the considerable utility of the comprehensive health status measurement approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the longitudinal stability of the structural relationships between the predisposing, enabling, and illness-morbidity characteristics of the population-at-risk and measures of health services utilization. The structural coefficients estimated from the 1971, 1972, and 1973 Health Interview Surveys were examined using the Relative Instability Ratio (RIR) presented in this paper. The RIR values indicate that—except for age, family size, occupation, and family income—all the predisposing, enabling, and illness-morbidity characteristics produce unstable structural relationships. In addition, a negative monotonic relationship was found between the temporal ordering of the groups of characteristics and their ability to produce stable structural relationships. These results demonstrate the need for entrepreneurial health manpower projection techniques and abstract academic explanatory models of health services utilization to become dynamic, rather than remaining in their present static states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares field data from three schools to generate explanations for teacher perceptions of their autonomy. These perceptions do not vary with control imposed on teachers in any regular way. Consideration of environmental pressure on the schools, however, reveals a pattern to the findings. Minimal environmental pressure allows the emergence of an all-pervading consensus that leads teachers to construe control as supportive of personal goals. Moderate pressure engenders teacher dependence on the principal to buffer them from uncertainty. The principal translates the dependence into control activities teachers perceive as constraints. High levels of pressure preoccupy the principal who, therefore, cannot coordinate the school effectively. This causes teachers, themselves, to feel ineffective and constrained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human ecology has been criticized for its neglect of values and the individual. Ecologists have defended themselves by arguing that the process of adaptation is such that values and the individual can be ignored. Hawley (1950:66), for example, contends that adaptation is a communal phenomena and can be analyzed without reference to individual-level variables. Gibbs and Martin (1959) contend that the individual and values are insignificant in human ecology because of the mechanism of "selective survival," which refers to the fact that only those societies with the proper combination of POET variables are able to survive in a given environment. This paper evaluates some of the models of adaptation used by human ecologists, and contends that the ecological models are rather elementary, and that they ignore some of the differences between biological and social adaptation. For these reasons the models minimize the role of values and the individual. In evaluating the ecological models, I present a model of adaptation to criticize the ecological models and to specify what I believe is the proper role of values and the individual in human ecology. The model describes three stages in the adaptive process (variation, transmission, and selection), and attempts to specify the role of values and the individual at each stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empiricist/symbolic realist debate in the sociology of religion, as well as the broader objectivist/subjectivist controversy in social science, suffers from the mystique of the extreme. Emphasis has been placed on the two approaches as opposing alternatives, an either-or choice. This paper suggests that the mystique of the extreme prohibits perception of the necessary, dialectical complementarity of the two approaches. Neither alone can succeed in understanding religion scientifically. Research efforts must bring together the two perspectives by using what social anthropologists refer to as the emic and etic levels of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classification, a fundamental human act, is the ultimate foundation of science, as well as the basis of everyday life. Exercising the prerogatives of science and the arts, the social sciences are rich in metaphoric classifications: mechanistic, organismic, systemic, and dramaturgical to name a few. Metaphors like similes, parables, and models are useful tools only as long as they are remembered as what they are—constructs. A beguiling temptation exists to treat such classifications literally as reified entities and as hypostasized tautologies. This paper addresses the misuse of language—semanticide—in the social sciences and particularly the sociological concepts of attitude, norm, and role. Semanticide occurs when these concepts are converted from behavioral descriptions into tautological causes. A renewed emphasis on the philosophy and sociology of language is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevailing research on political protest—which use data on events in pluralist societies —stresses the importance of target characteristics and the distribution of social support as explanatory variables affecting protest outcomes. This paper questions the applicability of these findings for explaining protest outcomes in hegemonies. An analysis of 303 protest events in the USSR yields the conclusion that measures of the internal strength of protest groups are the most important determinants of the effectiveness of Soviet dissident groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes that the study of deviance be expanded to include organizations as actors to which deviance may be imputed. In contrast to traditional empirical studies which tend to emphasize powerless persons who passively accept attributions of deviance, this study focuses on powerful actors who actively defend themselves. Attention is focused on the types of accounts offered by one organization, the Central Intelligence Agency, in reaction to imputations of deviance to it at key times since its founding in the late 1940s. The various accounts have been aided by powerful third parties willing to use their resources in support of justifying and excusing claims by the CIA. As a result, the agency has escaped virtually unscathed from attempts to label it as deviant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from 16 nations, this paper examines the effects of the occupational structure, the intergenerational change in the structure and exchange mobility on the observed mobility rates of males. The intergenerational change in the occupational structure has a strong effect on mobility due primarily to the decline of the proportion of men in agricultural occupations. The proportion of men in farming, the most important aspect of the shape of the structure, has a negative influence on mobility. This effect, however, is of minor importance among the more developed countries. Contrary to recent predictions, cross-national variance in exchange mobility has a strong effect which is at least as great as the structural effects among the more developed nations. Consequently, theory and research will have to pay careful attention to both structural and exchange components of mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comments on the exchange between Donald McQuarie and Mark Wardell in "The Sociological Quarterly" over the role of conceptual frameworks or paradigms in the development of theory in sociology and the social sciences. It offers some friendly criticism of these two comments and suggests that some of the less well known assumptions of Karl Marx concerning the nature of theory, history and human labor may help reunite McQuarie and Wardell. Marx was concerned with the problem of human alienation. For him, history was not that which was written in textbooks, rather, what people do when they seize the moment, make revolution and gain control over their own social institutions.

Most studies of subjective anomie assume that all individuals have the same goals, and they explain anomie in terms of differences in the means to achieve goals. This paper examines the effect of variations in the goal of success on anomie. Data are from a Harris survey of 3,001 adults in the continental United States. A multiple regression of anomie on success orientation, plus six social status variables, revealed that success orientation has a significant positive effect on anomie and that, next to education, it is the best predictor of anomie. This finding helps explain both intraclass variations in anomie and the increase in anomie from the 1950s to 1971 found by Fischer(1974). The social status variables did not explain much of the variation in success orientation, and the effect of success orientation on anomie was not mediated by education and income. The relevance of these findings to Durkheim's theory of anomie is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of ethnic background on organizational status attainment. The data are taken from a national sample of 2,755 Roman Catholic diocesan priests and bishops. The sample is divided into seven ethnic categories: Irish, German, French, Italian, Anglo-Saxon, Polish, and other. Controlling for the overall distribution of status positions within the diocese and the individual's age/seniority, a "non-preferential" model of status attainment is constructed. Average expected status on the basis of this non-preferential model for these ethnic groups in seven different regions of the country is compared to average actual status. Although we found three isolated cases of particular ethnic groups in specific regions doing significantly poorer in status attainment than predicted by the non-preferential model, the only consistent effect of ethnicity found across the entire sample is a slight advantage enjoyed by Irish clergy. No significant effect was associated with belonging to the largest ethnic group in a diocese. The very small advantage enjoyed by the Irish suggests that Irish domination of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States is maintained less by selective promotion within the ranks of the clergy and more by a disproportionate recruitment of Irish priests at the entrance levels of the organization. Disproportionate recruitment and preferential promotion are discussed as alternative mechanisms of domination within organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the process of religious socialization among American Jews using a sample of Chicago area adults. Two studies of Catholic schooling by Andrew Greeley and co-authors provides a conceptual framework. In addition to religious schooling, parental religiosity and spouse's religiosity analyzed in the Catholic school studies, this paper considers the effects of peer influences, youth group participation, and summer camping. An explanatory (path) model of religious socialization is developed. The findings indicate that four agents of religious socialization are consistently the best predictors of all types of adult religious involvement. They rank differently, however, in their predictive power. Contrary to many previous studies, these data show that parental influences tend to be more indirect than direct, mainly performing a channeling function; religious schooling has both substantial direct and indirect effects; and adult experiences are often more important than childhood experiences in the socialization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a comparative analysis of black sociology and phenomenological sociology and an attempt to show how phenomenology might be used to provide an epistemological foundation for black sociology. Attention is directed toward the writings of black and phenomenological sociologists. Arguments rest on appeals to authorities —quotations from and citations to influential writers. The specific points of comparison are the way the protagonists of the perspectives (1) define their activities, (2) criticize conventional sociology, and (3) investigate social reality. Epistemological issues are examined within a framework of the standard methodological problems of validity and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines the claim that many theories of deviance only have utility for explaining deviance committed by males because their conceptual development was tainted with inattention to females. Five variables representing the essence of major theories of deviant behavior are measured for a self-report sample of 1993 cases. Each variable is tested to determine how well it can account for deviance among females compared to males. In volume of deviance more males than females were classified as deviant but the underlying processes which the five theoretical variables address operated equally for members of both sexes. These findings support the position that the processes by which females come to commit deviance is similar to the processes for males. The findings suggest that exclusive focus on females is unlikely to yield more adequate explanations of female deviance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the controversial question of whether the theory of social solidarity contained in The Division of Labor in Society remained crucial to Durkheim's thinking after the book's publication in 1893. It is argued that this theory is rooted in a number of assumptions concerning primitive social life, the boundaries between nature and culture, and human nature. An analysis of material written after 1902 shows that Durkheim revised his approach to these topics to such an extent that he appears to be in the process of constructing a new theoretical framework for the investigation of social solidarity. In both the early and the later theories, however, the models of primitive social behavior, though different, perform similar intellectual functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historically dominant and generally accepted view is that males are much more likely than females to commit delinquent acts, and that when females deviate their misconduct is significantly less serious than that of males. This paper examines the recent contention that the delinquent behavior of males and females is more similar than assumed. Self-report questionnaires were administered in 1977 to a sample of 822 male and female adolescents selected from two urban high schools in a large midwestern state. Following (1971), we concentrate on the types of delinquent acts most frequently reported, as well as the extent of involvement in these acts. While males tend to commit most offenses more frequently than females, the pattern of delinquency is virtually identical for the two groups. This uniformity holds for race-sex subgroups, although there are more similarities in delinquency within racial groups than within sex groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important contributions of recent social problems theory is the insight that social problems are inherently political phenomena. Existing scholarship on this characteristic has not dealt systematically with (1) the degree of overt politicality of social issues, or (2) the dynamic element of this politicality. This paper first reviews recent literature in the "medicalization of deviant behavior," and suggests that this literature illustrates how the political element of social problem phenomena can be suppressed and replaced with a seemingly apolitical and technical perspective. Then it is proposed that interpretive social problems theory might deal more adequately with this pattern by incorporating a continuum ranging from "open" to "closed" social problems and analyzing the dynamics of social problem "enclosure," and that certain sorts of claims—cognitive as opposed to normative—are especially conducive to the depoliticization and enclosure of social problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the growing number of analysts who employ the world system perspective on national development, theoretical disagreements have evolved which may only be settled by examination of available data. Using an adaptation of the network metaphor, this paper blockmodels the world trade system in order (1) to demonstrate a single mode of international exchange in the world system instead of the competing capitalist and communist modes proposed by some, and (2) to illustrate the unique position of the middle level of nations in a three tier world system—a position sometimes denied. Implications for the competing world system theories and world development itself are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karl Marx's sociology has been interpreted incorrectly as the consequence of the application of a "dialectical" method to social phenomenon. In this paper, I discuss his actual method of theory construction (a rather more complicated phenomenon than the simple reversal of the Hegelian dialectic), the Ricardian method of successive approximations. This method involves three steps or stages—observation, model formation, and model testing and revision. Marx's Capital is reviewed in the light of his use of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the importance of identifying the environmental context in which organizations function. The relationship between an organization and those other groups and individuals constituting its environment is specified in terms of linkages. Two key dimensions of linkage are identified: strength and breadth. The former refers to how intimately the organization is connected with any other group while the latter refers to how extensive is the support. These linkages' dimensions are viewed from a "resource mobilization" perspective, i.e., as the means by which resources are brought into an organization. A study of linkages sustained by the NAACP during 1961-69 illustrates how the dimensions of linkage strength and breadth can be operationalized and applied. New avenues of research then are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effectiveness of the use of constraints (e.g., direct action tactics and violence) by protest groups. It is suggested that the development of theoretical understanding of protest movements requires that scholars turn their attention away from the question, "How effective is the use of constraints by protesters?" and instead address the more refined question, "Under what conditions is the use of constraints by protesters both most effective and least effective?" In pursuit of answers to this latter question, hypotheses are developed suggesting that the effectiveness of constraint utilization depends on the degree and direction of public (third party) involvement in the protest incident. An examination of 212 protests targeted at elected officials and public administrators in American cities during the period between 1960 and 1971 provides support for the following propositions. Constraint utilization will be most effective when third parties are either uninvolved in the protest or when they are involved and unsupportive of protester demands. Under these conditions, constraints may be effective resources enabling protesters to coerce targets into being responsive to their demands. Constraint utilization will be least effective when third parties are involved and supportive of protester demands or are attentive but initially neutral or divided in their support of the protesters. Under these conditions, the use of constraints may alienate those third parties who might otherwise be influential allies of the protesters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is argued that the theory of negotiated order, which has remained largely submerged within a series of fairly specific "grounded" case studies of occupations, professions, and complex organizations in the health field, has a number of attractive qualities to it. As such, it represents one of the more exciting recent developments in the study of organizations. The present paper examines the more recent historical origins of the theory, summarizes its major points, and critically assesses its strengths and weaknesses. Since most of the substance of the theory is found in studies of health professionals working in hospital settings, the examples used here are also derived from this particular body of literature. Some future possible directions which we believe will improve the overall explanatory power of the perspective are presented in the concluding section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the field of sociology and the subfield of complex organization have experienced a series of running debates between persons subscribing to structural approaches and those holding to interaction perspectives of scientific inquiry. Drawing upon Spinner's (1973) discussion of the types of intertheory relationships, this paper extends his analysis by drawing attention to the Polanyi-Hanson-Kuhn position on the fundamental nature of theory-laden observation. A methodological rule is proposed, using theoretic blockage as the basis for alternate shifting between diverse theories. In this manner, tenets of various theoretic perspectives can serve as heuristics to a more informed analysis. A theoretical discussion of power, deference, and social coordination is used to illustrate how the methodological rule of theoretic blockage can be employed to advance organization theory. I argue that the theoretical diversities in the subfield of complex organization can provide an excellent arena for exploring critical intertheory dialogues which can advance our knowledge of organizations. At the same time they can serve as a testing ground for general intertheory and interdisciplinary linkages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rationality that guides the sociological community has generated principles to evaluate members' work. Under the sway of these principles, Georg Simmel surfaces either as a peripheral member of the community or as an outright failure. His critics have argued that his work is "fragmented," that he begins without having formulated "guiding statements," that he is "unsystematic" and "undisciplined." Yet we can discover in Simmel's writings a distinct rationality that upsets this criticism by its transcendence of it. Had these particular critics read his work more carefully they might have discovered that Simmel had anticipated their criticism and had carefully reevaluated its source of authority. In this paper 1 address the problems of discipline and systematic unity in sociological writing in order to unmask the rationality held within the sociological community and to formulate Simmel's unique contribution as a member of that community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alternative approach to organizational theory is outlined, based on Marxian categories and propositions. The concepts of "productive forces" and "social relations of production" are specified in terms of various organizational phenomena such as organizing activity vs. organization; historical contradictions between organizational control structures and new forms of organizing work activity (e.g., occupational and professional status groups vs. administrative rationalization and bureaucratization; bureaucratic and technocratic administration vs. selforganization of labor and workers' control); the contradictions between such organizational dimensions as labor-power and its manifestations in terms of skills and knowledge, the object of labor (complexity of task structure), the means of labor (technology), the division of labor, the control of labor (cost-accounting and hierarchical authority relations), and the organization of labor (e.g., either in terms of occupations and professions or unions, corporate management, state bureaucracies, or self-organization and workers' control). Organizational contradictions between functional as well as historical phases of the work process are described for work organizations, in general, and for public service bureaucracies and courts of law, in particular. For example, administrative and technical innovations designed to increase productivity tend to come into contradiction with strategies of established authority structures (e.g., of the professional judicial elite) designed to expand domain, thus impeding or nullifying various organizational reform efforts. The paper concludes with a more general discussion of Marxian method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal and system resource approaches represent alternative conceptions of organizational effectiveness. The goal approach views effectiveness in terms of internal organizational objectives and performance. Organization-environment relations are the focus of the system resource approach, though previous applications of this perspective have been limited to profit-making organizations. This paper reconceptualizes the system resource approach for use in public agencies and examines the flow of organizational resources as an indicator of effectiveness.

This paper examines Blau's recent attempt to construct a deductive theoretical explanation of structural differentiation in formal organizations. Blau claims that certain generalizations are explanatory, and cites certain philosophers in support of this claim. A closer examination of these philosophers' views shows the resemblance between these generalizations and explanatory scientific generalizations to be only superficial. They can be better understood as descriptions of patterns. These patterns hold in virtue of the following of certain practices by organizational participants. Explanations of the instances covered by the generalizations which refer to these practices may be provided. These explanations require no supplementation. This suggests that the dependence is parasitic, insofar as explanation is concerned. Blau's explanations add nothing, nor are they fully independent alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is generally known that symbolic interactionism is historically and philosophically linked to American pragmatism, relatively little attention has been given to assessing the separate influences of Peirce, James, Dewey, and Mead upon its development. This paper contends that there were two opposing branches of American pragmatism: (1) the social realism of Peirce's pragmatism, and (2) the social nominalism of James's pragmatism. The writings of Dewey and Mead reflect the influences of both of these branches. Dewey, however, was more closely aligned with James while Mead's work is more consistent with Peirce's principles. Blumerian symbolic interactionism is essentially a continuation of the nominalistic James/Dewey branch of American pragmatism, notwithstanding the popular notion that, among the classic American. pragmatists, Mead was the principal precursor of symbolic interactionism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal and system resource approaches represent alternative conceptions of organizational effectiveness. The goal approach views effectiveness in terms of internal organizational objectives and performance. Organization-environment relations are the focus of the system resource approach, though previous applications of this perspective have been limited to profit-making organizations. This paper reconceptualizes the system resource approach for use in public agencies and examines the flow of organizational resources as an indicator of effectiveness. Goal approach indicators are matched with system resource measures in examining the convergence and consistency of the two approaches. The convergence of effectiveness measures is examined by observing the correlations between themselves and four organizational decision making variables that had previously been shown to be associated with effectiveness. An examination of the data collected through interviews with representatives of 110 public agencies reveals some consistency but no convergence between the two approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a simultaneous examination of three noteworthy causes of migration. The influences of the nuclear family life cycle, orientation toward the extended family, and economic aspirations upon the propensity to migrate were analyzed for husbands and wives with relatives in the same community. Multivariate analysis of variance and stepwise regressions of the survey data were utilized in testing several hypotheses. There was support for the ideas that (1) propensity to migrate declines during successive stages of the nuclear family life cycle, (2) propensity to migrate is inversely related to extended family orientations for husbands and wives with relatives in the same community, and (3) propensity to migrate is directly related to economic aspirations. It is suggested that future theory and research on the causes of migration need to focus on decision making in which the implications of the nuclear family life cycle can be further specified at the personal-psychological level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes an initial statement on the importance of the concept of the other in sociology and social psychology and then examines the place this concept plays in the essential thought of Alfred Schutz, G. H. Mead, and C. H. Cooley. It is argued that the concept is not a fundamental part of the thought of Schutz, that it is used merely as a convenient loophole at various strategic moments in the argument, whereas in the work of Mead and Cooley it is conceived as an active and embodied entity that plays a crucial role in their respective theories of socialization and human conduct. The work of the labeling theorists is then taken to illustrate the value of the concept as used by Mead and Cooley, with some changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a microsociological study of a group of people who have undergone a threat experience. Within the combined theoretical frameworks of symbolic interactionism and phenomenology, the event is seen as a "reality shock" for its participants, involving cognitive crises in group and individual definitions of the situation. The after period is one in which procedures toward making the threat experience meaningful on both group and individual levels are instituted within group networks. These procedures on a group level involve the construction of a "real" event by the objectification of time and experience and through the emergence and attribution of post-hoc norms. Strategies toward the maintenance and continuity of identity include reconstruction of the threat situation, of other participants' behavior, of post-hoc norms, or of individual behavior, and the negotiation of identity on these various bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the "integrative hypothesis" as an aid to understanding the current emergence of new religious movements appealing mainly to young persons. Four ways in which these movements reintegrate young persons into the social system are identified: adjustive socialization, combination, compensation, and redirection. The limitations of each of these as an explanation for the integrative consequences of youth culture religious movements are discussed. A distinction is made between adaptive movements which actually appear to reassimilate social "dropouts" into conventional instrumental routines, and marginal movements which appear to take converts out of conventional roles and routines, but which also perform latent tension management functions for the social system. The correlated properties of adaptive ami marginal movements and the tendency for marginal movements to evolve into adaptive movements are discussed. Finally, the problem of "reductionism" in analyzing religious movements in terms of their latent integrative "functions" is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first reviews the descriptions and structural explanations for variations, in urban population densities in the United States over several decades. The research reviewed focuses on shifts in the technology and economics of travel as being the major influences on urban density distributions. These variables appear to be somewhat less adequate as explanations of the process in recent decades. After reviewing these findings and suggesting several research questions, we attempt to assess the evidence relating variations in population density to several other aspects of human behavior. A review of the research relating high population densities to various "social pathologies" indicates that little of the variance in rates of these pathologies can be attributed to density independently of other social structural variables. Some important consequences of population density have been reported, however, and possible research directions are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to analyze the fundamental components of Gramsci's Marxist theory: the assertion of absolute historicism and humanism over economic determinism, the primacy of superstructural over infrastructural activities, the primacy of ideological over political hegemony and the subjective over the objective dimension in Marxist theory of history and society. Furthermore, after reviewing the historical development of the sociology of knowledge and contrasting Marx, Mannheim, Stark, and Gurvitch with Gramsci's theoretical positions, an attempt is made to delineate a Gramscian sociology of knowledge. In its basic framework, the ideologization of thought is pressed to its extreme; the theory of knowledge becomes the theory of ideology; the totality of sociocultural phenomena is ultimately subordinated to the hermeneutic criterion of "critical consciousness" of subaltern classes developed in their ascendant movement toward idological and political hegemony, and the success of positivist methodology is explained in terms of the masses' lack of critical consciousness. In conclusion, the Gramscian sociology of knowledge becomes a form of critical consciousness. Its validity resides in its ideological function of intellectually organizing the experiences of the masses. Thus, ideologies cease to be viewed as intellectual processes mystifying social reality as in Marx and Mannheim and acquire true historical, psychological, and gnosiological value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the contingencies and stages of the ironworker apprentice career. The analysis of nine months of participant observation data, most of which was collected by observing ironworkers throughout the construction of a twenty-one story office building, indicates four critical career stages that ironworker apprentices must successfully negotiate in their movement towards acceptance as trusted co-workers. Each of the career stages: sponsorship, "punking," initiative taking, and "getting scale" involves the work group or its representatives testing and assessing apprentices. These evaluations are communicated to the apprentice and other ironworkers and provide the apprentice a basis for assessing his progress and gauging his suitability for more responsible and often times more risky demonstrations of competence. Ironworkers perceive their work as extremely perilous and their danger increases while working with inexperienced neophytes. The workers must rely on the coordinated and trustworthy actions of co-workers and the ever-present threats to their safety lead them to develop and enforce processes of continuous surveillance, testing, and evaluation of all workers. These processes are most stringently applied to apprentices but apply throughout the ironworker career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]