Suchergebnisse

This paper examines the conditions under which normlessness leads to trouble with the law and the mechanisms through which social structure affects trouble with the law. Objective conditions of structural inconsistency, common in low socioeconomic positions, can lead to normlessness. The results presented here show that the association of normlessness and trouble with the law depends on whether normlessness is combined with a sense of powerlessness or with one of instrumentalism. Among persons who see themselves as powerless, normlessness is not associated with trouble with the law. Among persons who see themselves as instrumental, normlessness is associated with greater trouble with the law.

This paper reviews survey research explaining the social patterns of distress. There are four basic patterns: (a) The higher one's social status the lower one's distress; (b) women are more distressed than men; (c) married persons are less distressed than unmarried persons, and; (d) the greater the number of undesirable events in one's life the greater one's distress. The major forms of distress are malaise (such as lethargy, headaches, and trembling hands), anxiety (such as feeling afraid, worried, or irritable), and depression (such as feeling sad, worthless, or hopeless). Sociological theory suggests that alienation, authoritarianism, and inequity produce distress. The research indicates that distress is reduced by control, commitment, support, meaning, normality, flexibility, trust, and equity. The presence or absence of these accounts for the social patterns of distress.

A survey of Mexican Americans (N = 194, administered a questionnaire via face-to-face interview) in El Paso, Tex, reveals that participation in Spanish-speaking networks lowers the expected level of SES, while higher status decreases the expected level of participation in Spanish-speaking networks. This reciprocal relationship is simultaneously a force of assimilation & of dissimilation. 2 Tables, 1 Figure, 30 References. Modified HA.

A pilot study of schools and districts in Los Angeles County. The authors identify the private givers to public education; examine public-private partnerships that have developed and the mechanisms used to secure private resources; and identify the various types of private giving

The authors examine the evidence on vouchers in education. They consider how vouchers would affect the academic achievement of participating and non-participating students, which students might use vouchers, who would supply and regulate schooling, and how much a voucher system would cost