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The paper presents comparison between the associations of British and American voluntary associations. The development of postwar research on the structure and functioning of voluntary associations has been uneven, and there have been marked differences between British and American research in this field. This paper offers a narrow definition of voluntary associations. It defines voluntary associations as groups in which membership is in no sense obligatory, which have a formal constitution, but which do not have paid officials at the local level. The next section of this paper places the subsequent analysis in context by pointing briefly to the very substantial similarities between research in Great Britain and the U.S. The third section discusses differences in the research environments of the two countries, and suggests their relevance to the main problem. The fourth section assesses the differences in research orientations between the two countries, as it has influenced the study of voluntary associations. The final section considers the effect of these differences upon the functional analyses that have been made.

This article presents information related to a business meeting. The annual AKD business meeting was held on August 31, 1986, at the New York Hilton. Jerry Michel, scholar at the Memphis State University and AKD President presided the meeting. Those present were: Candace Clark, Helen Clarke, Al Clarke, Ken Davidson, David Demo, Marie Fuller, Rose Helper, Mark Butter, Lyn Lofland, Mike Malec, Betty Maynard, Annabelle Motz, Wayne Seelbach, Don Shoemaker, Jim Skipper, Jim Williams, Kenneth Wilson and Donna Darden. In addition to normal items of business, the following announcements and decisions were made at the meeting. The winners of the 1986 paper competition were as follows First prize: Tracey Watson, Skidmore College, Second prize: Jane Melada, Montclair State and third prize: William Axinn, Cornwell. Watson's paper, "Women Athletes and Athletic Women: The Dilemmas and Contradictions of Managing Incongruent Identities," will be published in the journal "Sociological Inquiry." The Council voted to name Dennis Peck, scholar at the University of Alabama-Bitmingham, as new editor of the journal.

This paper is concerned with the voluntary associations of adolescents. It focuses on three main issues. First, on the extent to which middle-and working-class adolescents are affiliated with and involved in formal organizations; Second, on affiliation as a family-linked characteristic; and third, on whether involvement by an individual in children's associations is related to subsequent membership in formal groups as an adolescent. Data for the study were collected from a sample of 456 students enrolled in high school population of a small city, which is situated 20 miles from Omaha, Nebraska. A very high proportion of middle-class and working-class students in the study were affiliated with groups. The data show that while middle-class students were more likely to be affiliated than working-class students, the differences were not great. Similarly, no important differences along class lines were observed when attendance at meetings were considered. Membership in voluntary groups did indeed prove to be family linked. Students were more likely to join youth associations if a parent belonged to a voluntary association than where this was not the case.

This paper presents a study on the nature of influence in regional sociological associations in the U.S. It compares and contrasts organizations and extends an earlier study of three national societies. Data were collected and analyzed which pertained to several characteristics of association presidents. Data about each president were collected for a period of ten years prior to his election. It is noted that as membership in the national associations has become greater, the smaller coteries of specialized interests have developed to delineate members who share a common language. Moreover, the presidency of an organization, as it is occupied by a sequence of incumbents, renders visible the norms and values of members. Information was gathered from news reported in the "American Journal of Sociology" and the "American Sociological Review," from private correspondence, and from association records. The study concerned the six regional societies which are affiliated with the American Sociological Association.