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doi: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1974.tb02122.xpmid: N/A
The late 1960s saw the emergence of a few “super gangs” whose political and economic activities attracted much attention. More recently, gangs apparently similar to those of the 1950s have become newsworthy again in several major cities. This paper surveys these developments against the background of a variety of macro- and microsociological processes. Research conducted in Chicago and elsewhere during the late 1950s and early 60s suggests that delinquent gangs were rather “innocent” participants in the broad social trends of the times and that most gang members were relatively unaffected by the ideological currents associated with them. The primary effect on gangs was indirect, by changing the perceptions and attitudes of others toward gangs, and their behavior in relation to them. Gang life for most members of most gangs, individually and collectively, appears to have changed little in recent years. The prospects for channeling the energies of gangs into socially constructive programs seem bleak, because of the operation of group processes, and the limited experiences and social abilities of most gang members. Basic structural limitations on opportunities for the poor and the powerless to achieve economic and political power provide the framework within which these processes operate today as in the past.
doi: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1974.tb02123.xpmid: N/A
The movement toward the rationalization of the world, as conceived by Max Weber, has culminated in the 20th century with the rationalization and the professionalization of politics. It is a process by which human beings attempt to transform decision-making into a public service, independent of class and other interests, and based upon a systematic body of knowledge about man.The development of professionalized politics becomes possible when the practitioners themselves set out to manipulate charismatic symbols and create a social order compatible with professionalized decision-making, as exemplified by the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. The major social problems of such a new social order can be traced to the structural tensions which come about as a result of political professionalization.The paper contains an outline of the major tensions existing in Soviet society, which require further study by sociologists: 1) intraprofessional tensions; 2) practitionerclient tensions; and 3) interprofessional tensions. Proposals are made as to the sources of these tensions and the ways in which they are resolved. It is suggested that the survival of professionalized politics is based on the Party's capacity to manage these tensions.
doi: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1974.tb02126.xpmid: N/A
Sociological theory poses the issue of whether ideational or coercive factors provide the central basls of social order. The former view maintains (and requires) that a value consensus exist in the empirical world; the latter assumes the existence of a ruling class which dominates the ideational institutions of the society. A preliminary scrutiny of available evidence suggests that: (1) a value consensus does not exist, and (2) there is a high concentration of wealth and economic control which appears to extend into vital political and ideological areas, thereby implying the existence of a dominant or ruling class. Based upon these conclusions, the concept of ideological hegemony is introduced as a significant component of a Marxist view of social order. The hegemonic process is described and available evidence is examined in the areas of political socialization and mass media. A pattern in which debate and discussion are circumscribed while alternative values and world views are ignored or suppressed was found to characterize these two areas. This pattern was seen to provide further support for the Marxist view that an ideological hegemony imposed by the dominant class is the ideational manifestation of a social order based upon coercion.
doi: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1974.tb02127.xpmid: N/A
The political distinctiveness of major American religious groupings is well-documented, but the role of church attendance in maintaining these cleavages has been unclear. Analysis of white respondents in five national surveys covering 16 years reveals that church attendance is significantly related to party identification and presidential vote in all but one instance. Application of Goodman's log-linear analysis of contingency tables shows that higher rates of church attendance are related to non-Democratic preferences among Protestants and Democratic preferences among Catholics. In several years, the relationship depends as well upon region of residence. The effects, particularly on the vote, seem to be changing systematically over time as the South becomes politically similar to the non-South.
doi: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1974.tb02128.xpmid: N/A
An association between doctrinal beliefs and positions on social issues is posited. This study of the clergy in an industrial city demonstrated that doctrinal orthodoxy had an independent effect on positions taken on issues related to social control, personal morality, use of power by the elite, civil liberties, minority rights, and welfare support. Absolutist clergymen with a doctrinally conservative other-worldly focus were reluctant to change society: they supported social control, personal morality, and considerable use of force by the power elite. Evolutionist, this-worldly clergymen who were more doctrinally liberal were open to change and focused more on issues such as civil liberty, minority rights, and welfare support.
Nash, Jeffrey E.; Calonico, James M.
doi: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1974.tb02129.xpmid: N/A
An interpretation of selected portions of Bernstein's sociolinguistics is presented. The interpretation suggests that linguistic performance intervenes between social structure and self-concept. The theory is specified through a research application. The specification holds that two views of social structure are implicit within the theory: one micro-cosmic and the other macrocosmic. For Bernstein these views are linked to Mead and Durkheim, respectively. However, the present analysis attempts to show that both are properly understood as Meadian. Linguistic performance is related to self-derogation within a strict Meadian interpretation. The contribution of the theory seems to lie in a specification of a Meadian view of self relative to selected aspects of language.
doi: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1974.tb02130.xpmid: N/A
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 through-out the ironworker career.
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