Suchergebnisse

Using the Sunday comics as cultural artifacts, this research examines three cartoon families, "Dennis the Menace," "Calvin and Hobbes," and "Curtis." All of the families are nuclear; the fatheris a white-collar worker; the mother remains at home. Each family has a male child who is the central character. A major difference is that the first two cartoons depict white families whereas the third describes an African American family. Using content analysis, the location of characters, activities, relationships between characters, and central themes are examined. Evidence of both family unity and social engagement is greater in the African American family than in either of the two white families. The portrayal of the two white families suggests a traditional pattern of neighbourhood containment in the older comic and isolation both within the family and between the family and community in the more contemporary one.

This research is based on a comparison of the effects of a 21‐minimum‐age drinking law. Using two self‐report samples of college students, one from a state where the minimum drinking age is 21 (N= 249) and another from a state where the minimum drinking age is 18 (N= 330), drinking behavior patterns are compared in terms of frequency, quantity, and location of consumption. The data suggest that the 21‐minimum‐age drinking law deters drinking in controlled locations while having no significant deterring effect in uncontrolled locations. Implications of the findings are provided.

Abstract. A six‐months run of the popular and long‐lived newspaper cartoon, "Dick Tracy," was analyzed in terms of the frequency with which certain characters were used, the location and setting in which they appeared and the criminal activity and law enforcement technique portrayed. Also studied were physical characteristics of criminals and police, and the use of violence. The results indicated the continued theme of the cartoonist, Chester Gould, was a "morality play,"i.e., the triumph of good over evil. All pictured criminals were either apprehended or killed as a result of police expertise, and police violence was both minimal and reactive. However, contrary to similar analyses of primetime television, the majority of offenses pictured were crimes against the American economic system, rather than violent crime, and offenders were disproportionately White, middle‐aged males.

This research investigated how local community-based and nonprofit organizations benefit from cooperation with community-based learning (CBL) initiatives such as service learning, internships, and volunteering. By examining data from local organizations that cooperate with a campus-based student volunteer program, the authors empirically assessed the extent to which local organizations benefit from cooperation with CBL initiatives. The data enabled comparisons of the relative contributions of university student volunteers and off-campus volunteers recruited from the larger community. The authors found that student volunteers constitute a substantial pool of volunteer labor for local organizations, yet they play different roles than community volunteers, roles that vary by organizational form. Student volunteers are generally the least likely to provide or help plan and coordinate services compared with community volunteers. These differences can be offset by a modest amount of training for student volunteers. The findings do not support the notion that students are used exclusively for routine tasks.