AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Dept Management U California, Los Angeles 90024
PB: Chpt in REDUCING POVERTY IN AMERICA: VIEWS AND APPROACHES, Darby, Michael R. [Ed], Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996, pp 367-372.
DT: bca Book-Chapter-Abstract
LA: English
PY: 1996
AB: Asserts that cultural problems underlie both the problem of poverty & the problem of the underclass in US society. Economic incentives are usually thought to be the solution to reducing poverty, while cultural factors are the solution to the problem of the underclass. It is suggested here that a key cultural change underlies both problems. This change is described as an increased celebration of personal freedom & individual self-expression in a way that has materially reduced the social stigma once attached to unwed pregnancies, drug use, & male idleness. While this change has advanced enlightened understanding, it has also produced the conditions of entrenched poverty & a self-reproducing underclass. In this context, three kinds of actions are suggested. 2 References. D. M. Smith (Copyright 1998, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: *Underclass- (D885200); *Poverty- (D650400); *Sociocultural-Factors (D807000); *Antipoverty-Programs (D037200)
SH: studies in poverty; studies in poverty (2757)
CC: 2757; 2700
SN: 0-7619-0007-1
AN: 9805935
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
JN: Public-Interest; 1997, 126, winter, 3-14.
IS: 0033-3557
CO: PBCIA4
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1997
AB: Despite the existence of high crime rates, high electoral concern over crime, & the dominance of conservative political leadership during the 1980s in England & the US, the former has seen a lowering of penal sanctions & a continuing rise in crime rates, while the latter has seen an increase in penal sanctions & a lowering of crime rates. It is argued that the outcome differential stems from the respective political structures; ie, in the US, widely distributed authority amplifies public opinion, which translated into political action & a tougher government stance on crime. In England, a system of concentrated authority empowered the government rather than the people, & entrenched government policy, making threat of imprisonment remote & brief, despite continued public demands. D. Generoli (Copyright 1997, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: *Criminal-Justice (D185700); *England- (D261300); *United-States-of-America (D890700); *Penal-Reform (D616200); *Crime-Rates (D185400)
DE: Right-Wing-Politics (D719100); Deterrence- (D212700)
IP: penal sanctions/criminal justice, England vs US, authority distribution
SH: social problems and social welfare; sociology of crime (2147)
CC: 2147; 2100
AN: 9717981
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: U California, Los Angeles 90024
JN: Policy-Review; 1996, 76, Mar-Apr, 34-37.
IS: 0146-5945
CO: POREDP
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1996
AB: Proposes a strategy to address increasing teenage pregnancies, illegitimate children, & years in Aid for Dependent Children & welfare, as well as character building for young unmarried pregnant girls who cannot or will not stay with parents - a family shelter or group home for such girls, under adult supervision's. While the problem of getting boys & men to accept the responsibilities of paternity is widely acknowledged, few solutions have been suggested. It is concluded that the present system of aid to single mothers should be radically altered, & privately run shelters should be provided. V. Wagener (Copyright 1996, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: *Unwed-Mothers (D891600); *Welfare-Recipients (D915600); *Residential-Institutions (D711900)
DE: Social-Policy (D793800); Welfare-Services (D915900)
IP: teenage pregnancy/welfare dependency, ameliorative solutions
SH: policy, planning, forecasting; policy sciences (2462)
CC: 2462; 2400
AN: 9613036
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: U California, Los Angeles 90089
PB: Chpt in POPULATIONS AT RISK IN AMERICA: VULNERABLE GROUPS AT THE END OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, Demko, George J., & Jackson, Michael C. [Eds], Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc, 1995, pp 91-103.
DT: bca Book-Chapter-Abstract
LA: English
PY: 1995
AB: Secondary empirical evidence is surveyed which indicates that there may be a genetic predisposition toward criminality. Included in such evidence are differences in rates of male & female crime, & in crime committed by identical vs fraternal twins. It is argued that environmental factors alone are unable to explain persistent criminality for the simple reason that such crime usually begins very early in life. Moreover, many of the cultural factors that produce crime, eg, family culture, are virtually out of reach of social legislation. A call is made for more sustained attention to the individual aspects of deviance & criminal behavior. D. M. Smith (Copyright 1996, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: *Deviant-Behavior (D214500); *Human-Nature (D373500); *Crime-Rates (D185400); *Genetics- (D321000); *Crime- (D184800)
DE: Sociopathic-Personality (D813600); Sex-Differences (D758100); Deviance- (D214425); Twins- (D884100)
IP: criminality/deviance, genetic predisposition; secondary empirical data
SH: social psychology; personality & social roles (individual traits, social identity, adjustment, conformism, & deviance) (0312); social problems and social welfare; sociology of crime (2147)
CC: 0312; 0300; 2147; 2100
SN: 0-8133-8946-1
AN: 96c02760
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
DA: Lane,-Robert-E.
JN: Critical-Review; 1994, 8, 4, fall, 555-564.
IS: 0891-3811
CO: CTRVE3
DT: brv Book-Review
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1994
PD: 1991
SH: social change and economic development; market structures & consumer behavior (0749)
CC: 0749; 0700
AN: 95a108631
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Anderson Graduate School Management U California, Los Angeles 90095 [Tel: 310-825-2840]
JN: Critical-Review; 1994, 8, 4, fall, 555-564.
IS: 0891-3811
CO: CTRVE3
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1994
AB: A review essay on a book by Robert E. Lane, The Market Experience (Cambridge: Cambridge U Press, 1991 [see listing in IRPS No. 81]). Lane restates the central criticism of economic views of human satisfaction, ie, that they define welfare as utility &, in practice if not in theory, use money as the measure of utility, while in reality utility (or welfare) ought to be defined as happiness. In exporing the implications of this noneconomic definition for our assessment of markets, Lane summarizes the evidence about how people assess their own happiness more successfully than he clarifies the meaning of that word. Since increases in income above a certain minimum do not increase happiness, work must be made more meaningful. Adapted from the source document. (Copyright 1995, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Life-Satisfaction (D463800); Markets- (D492300); Happiness- (D349200); Wealth- (D914100)
IP: wealth/happiness/utility, human satisfaction elements; book review essay
SH: social change and economic development; market structures & consumer behavior (0749)
CC: 0749; 0700
AN: 9510706
AU: Evans,-Rod-L.-[Ed]; Berent,-Irwin-M.-[Ed]; Bennett,-Marguerite-A.; Bennett,-William-John; Branch,-Taylor; Brenner,-Todd-Austin; Buckley,-William-Frank,-Jr.; Carter,-William-Hodding,-III; Downs,-Hugh-Malcolm; Frazell,-Daryl; Friedman,-Milton; Gazzaniga,-Michael-S.; Hill,-John-Lawrence; Kondracke,-Morton-Matt; Moore,-Mark-H.; Musto,-David-Franklin; Nadelmann,-Ethan-Avram; Nahas,-Gabriel-G.; Pauling,-Linus; Rangel,-Charles-Bernard; Schmoke,-Kurt-Lidell; Smith,-Merrill-A.; Szasz,-Thomas-S.; Trebach,-Arnold-S.; Tully,-Edward-J.; Wilson,-James-Quinn; Wisotsky,-Stephen
IN: Old Dominion U, Norfolk VA 23529
PB: xxiii+331pp, CI, La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Publishing Co.
DT: bka Book-Abstract
LA: English
PY: 1992
AB: Advocacy for drug legalization, once a fringe position, has moved into the mainstream of policy debate, where it is defended by such eminent participants as William F. Buckley, Jr., & Milton Friedman. Both are represented here, along with many other well-known voices in law, law enforcement, medicine, psychiatry, economics, journalism, & philosophy - as well as sociology. Their positions range from advocating total legalization to vigorously escalating an international war on drugs. The middle ground is represented with stances that include legalization of just some drugs, & decriminalization in various degrees. The articles selected were originally published in everything from professional & scholarly journals to the opinion/editorial section of daily newspapers. "The serious purpose of this volume is to help the concerned citizen & voter to make an informed & reasoned choice on a fateful issue whose outcome will profoundly affect all our lives." The book is presented in 11 Chpts, some of multiple parts, with a Foreword by Linus Pauling, an Introduction by Hugh Malcolm Dowrs, & Background to the Debate by the editors. (1) Questions to Consider: Charles Bernard Rangel - Legalizing Drugs: A Dangerous Idea. (2) Introductory Arguments: Ethan Avram Nadelmann - The Case for Legalization; & James Q. Wilson - Against the Legalization of Drugs. (3) A Classic Correspondence: The Economist versus the 'Drug Czar': Milton Friedman - An Open Letter to Bill Bennett; William John Bennett - A Response to Milton Friedman; & Milton Friedman - Bennett's "Public Policy Disaster" Is Already Here. (4) Law Enforcement Responses: Edward J. Tully & Marguerite A. Bennett - Pro-Legalization Arguments Reviewed and Rejected; & Merrill A. Smith - The Drug Problem: Is There an Answer? (5) Prohibition Comparisons: William Hodding Carter, III - We're Losing the Drug War because Prohibition Never Works; & Mark H. Moore - Actually, Prohibition Was a Success. (6) Legal and Philosophical Arguments: Is There a Right to Use Drugs?: John Lawrence Hill - The Zone of Privacy and the Right to Use Drugs: A Jurisprudential Critique; Mark H. Moore - Drugs: Getting a Fix on the Problem and the Solution; Todd Austin Brenner - The Legalization of Drugs: Why Prolong the Inevitable?; & Steven Wisotsky - Statement of Steven Wisotsky before the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. (7) Official Responses: A Mayor and a 'Czar': Kurt Lidell Schmoke - Decriminalizing Drugs: It Just Might Work - and Nothing Else Does; & William John Bennett - Mopping Up after the Legalizers: What the 'Intellectual' Chorus Fails to Tell You. (8) The Scope and Severity of Addiction: Two Scientists' Divergent Views: Michael S. Gazzaniga - The Opium of the People: Crack in Perspective; & Gabriel G. Nahas - The Decline of Drugged Nations. (9) Scapegoats, Cycles, and Society: The Views of Two Psychiatrists: Thomas S. Szasz - A Plea for the Cessation of the Longest War in the Twentieth Century - The War on Drugs; & David Franklin Musto - Testimony of David F. Musto for the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. (10) The Journalists: A 'Conservative' and a 'Liberal' View: William Frank Buckley, Jr. - Drug Talk across the Way; & Morton Matt Kondracke - Don't Legalize Drugs: The Costs Are Still Too High. (11) Half-Measures? Some Proposals between the Extremes: Daryl Frazell - Should Drugs Be Legalized? The Perils at the Extremes; Taylor Branch - Let Koop Do It: A Prescription for the Drug War; & Arnold S. Trebach - Tough Choices: The Practical Politics of Drug Policy Reform. Select Bibliog of 90 items. F. Shephard (Copyright 1995, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Drugs- (D232500); Social-Policy (D793800); Government-Regulation (D334200); Social-Control (D783600); Decriminalization- (D201650); United-States-of-America (D890700)
IP: drug legalization, supporting/opposing arguments, US policy
SH: policy, planning, forecasting; policy sciences (2462); sociology of health and medicine; substance use/abuse & compulsive behaviors (drug abuse, addiction, alcoholism, gambling, eating disorders, etc.) (2079)
CC: 2462; 2400; 2079; 2000
SN: 0-8126-9183-0; 92-1626
AN: 95c02013
AU: Walton,-Hanes,-Jr.; McLemore,-Leslie-Burl; Gray,-C.-Vernon
IN: Savannah State Coll, GA 31404
JN: National-Political-Science-Review; 1992, 3, 217-229.
IS: 0896-629X
CO: NPSREL
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1992
AB: Examines the problem of bias & distortion born of inaccurate prior beliefs & attitudes that slip into academia as political & social truths. Its occurrence in the study of black urban politics is illustrated through a contrast of the works of two pioneers in the field, Harold F. Gosnell & James Q. Wilson, each of whom based their research in Chicago, IL. The role & legacy of preconceived perception in conceptualization, methodology, & research findings are described. It is concluded that Gosnell's is a body of work formulated from within the subject community's experience, while Wilson's represents a prime example of conservative reflection conceptualized from outside the local political reality. 21 References. C. Mariani (Copyright 1995, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Black-Americans (D083650); Urban-Areas (D892200); Politics- (D643500); Bias- (D077900); Theoretical-Problems (D864425); Social-Science-Research (D798900); Methodological-Problems (D516750)
IP: black urban politics, research bias/distortion
SH: political sociology/interactions; sociology of political systems, politics, & power (0925); group interactions; social group identity & intergroup relations (groups based on race & ethnicity, age, & sexual orientation) (0410)
CC: 0925; 0900; 0410; 0400
AN: 9503223
AU: Stenson,-Kevin-[Ed]; Cowell,-David-[Ed]; Currie,-Elliott; Wilson,-James-Q.; King,-Michael; Bright,-John; Boyd,-Neil; Lowman,-John; Tame,-Chris; Young,-Jock; Scraton,-Phil; Chadwick,-Kathryn; Radford,-Jill; Stanko,-Elizabeth-A.; de-Hann,-Willem
IN: Buckinghamshire Coll, England
PB: xiv+226pp, CI, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
DT: bka Book-Abstract
LA: English
PY: 1991
AB: A collection of papers on crime prevention & control, presented in II PARTS & 10 Chpts, with a Preface. (1) Kevin Stenson - Making Sense of Crime Control - examines the scope of crime, demonstrating the difficulty of defining its terms, prevention, & control, as well as the politics of crime. The work of Michel Foucault provides a perspective on the nature of scientific truth in criminology that can be used to account for the radical voices on the fringe of the discipline, which may be viewed as links to debates between liberal/social democrats & conservatives. PART I - CONTROL AND PREVENTION IN PRACTICE - discusses crime prevention in terms of formation & implementation of policy & the controversy related thereto, in (2) A Debate between Elliott Currie & James Q. Wilson - The Politics of Crime: The American Experience - reproduces a debate between Currie & Wilson wherein Currie attacks conservative ideas & policies since the 1970s & the claimed consequences for US crime rates as judged by international standards, & Wilson answers by emphasizing the failure of liberal democratic policies to come to grips with the problems of crime; (3) John Bright - Crime Prevention: The British Experience - reports on recent changes in crime prevention activities in GB within the jurisdictions of local & national government & the not-for-profit sector, & argues that there is a shift toward a concern with social crime prevention & away from emphasis on crime control issues; (4) Michael King - The Political Construction of Crime Prevention: A Contrast between the French and British Experience - claims that crime is a socially constructed problem, created & maintained for the benefit of certain private interest groups, comparing the experiences of France & GB; & (5) Neil Boyd & John Lowman - The Politics of Prostitution and Drug Control - examines control strategies in Western societies for dealing with problems relating to drug use & prostitution, contrasts the policies of the US & the Netherlands relating to these issues, & emphasizes the need to understand such issues within the broader context of political & economic relations. PART II - ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO PREVENTION AND CONTROL - defines crime from the disparate viewpoints of the Left & the Right in (6) Chris R. Tame - Freedom, Responsibility and Justice: The Criminology of the "New Right" - discusses various approaches to crime control that can be labeled as from the new Right, the natural rights of liberalism, the free market approach to economics, & the "new realist" conservative approach; (7) Jock Young - Left Realism and the Priorities of Crime Control - attempts to steer a path between conservative concerns with crime control & the exaggerated emphasis on the oppressive leftist or neo-Marxist systems of control; (8) Phil Scraton & Kathryn Chadwick - The Theoretical and Political Priorities of Critical Criminology - describes a continuity between early approaches in radical criminology, which emphasized the role of the criminal justice system in regulating class conflict & reproducing exploitive relations of production, with the newer versions of conflict theory; (9) Jill Radford & Elizabeth A. Stanko - Violence against Women and Children: The Contradictions of Crime Control under Patriarchy - emphasizes the need for women to define their own problems in dealing with the effects of male violence, questions the benefits to women of interest exhibited by police & social services agencies worldwide in regulating domestic problems, & contends that women themselves must develop strategies of self-protection, resistance, & crime control; & (10) Willem de Haan - Abolitionism and Crime Control: A Contradiction in Terms - rejects & deconstructs the concept of crime, claims that it is counterproductive for the criminal justice system to intrude on everyday life, & suggests that alternative means of social redress be developed. References accompany each Chpt. J. W. Stanton (Copyright 1994, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Crime-Prevention-^s-Crime-Prevention (D185100); Theoretical-Problems (D864425); Political-Factors (D639650); Social-Factors (D786600); Criminology- (D186600); Social-Control (D783600)
IP: crime prevention/control, sociopolitical issues
SH: social problems and social welfare; sociology of crime (2147)
CC: 2147; 2100
SN: 0-8039-8341-7; 91-053149
AN: 94c01964
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: U California, Los Angeles 90024
JN: Society; 1992, 30, 1(201), Nov-Dec, 90-93.
CO: SOCYA6
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1992
AB: Though racism appears to have declined since the 1960s & contact between the races has increased, race relations have not improved to any noticeable extent in the past thirty years. Fear has replaced racial prejudice as the motivation for behavior that is indistinguishable from racism: fear of crime, drugs, gangs, & violence now propels white flight & perpetuates racially toned perceptions. It is suggested that racism or perceptions of racism can be reduced by reducing the black crime rate & can only be accomplished through attacking the intangible problems of the inner cities - the problems of values, fear, despair, poor work habits, & inadequate skills. Public policy must focus on young males, & combine reward & punishment as incentives. The Civilian Conservation Corp is discussed as offering an appropriate model for such public programs. D. Generoli (Copyright 1993, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Social-Reform (D796800); Fear-of-Crime (D294000); Racism- (D690000); United-States-of-America (D890700); Racial-Relations (D689400)
IP: racism, fear motivation
SH: social problems and social welfare; sociology of crime (2147)
CC: 2147; 2100
AN: 9304418
AV: UMI
AU: Petersilia,-Joan; Abrahamse,-Allan; Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Criminal Justice Program RAND Corp, PO Box 2138 Santa Monica CA 90406-2138
JN: Policing-and-Society; 1990, 1, 1, 23-38.
CO: POSOER
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-Kingdom
PY: 1990
AB: In light of the fact that 50+% of suspects arrested for felonies in the US are released, it is questioned whether police are failing to provide enough evidence for prosecution. Analysis of state statistical data on criminal attrition, police expenditures, & community characteristics for 25 Los Angeles County (Calif) police departments indicates that, although such a hypothesis seems logical, case-attrition patterns may not be a valid basis for evaluating the quality of police work. For the 2 crimes studied, robbery & burglary, some departments convicted twice the number of their arrestees as others. Community crime rates play a slight role in this, & the money & resources departments can devote to each arrest are also significant. Purely demographic differences between communities appear to account for little, if any, variation in case attrition. Although critics clamor for more convictions, survey data (N not provided) indicate that officers may not see this as their role: none of the respondents knew or cared where they stood in relation to other departments' attrition rates, & they considered making arrests as their sole concern. It is cautioned that the professional judgment & experience of police departments cannot be lightly dismissed; if police & prosecutors are generally satisfied with their present relationships, it should not be assumed that there is something wrong with those relationships. Reforms aimed at improving communications between police & prosecutors have made very little difference in attrition rates in the departments studied. 2 Tables, 1 Appendix, 18 References. Adapted from the source document. (Copyright 1992, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Police- (D636000); Police-Community-Relations (D636100); Attrition- (D058300); Legal-Cases (D453000); Job-Performance (D420300); Social-Control (D783600); Demographic-Characteristics (D205800); Offenders- (D583500); Los-Angeles,-California (D474300)
IP: criminal prosecution/attrition rates; police practice/community characteristics; statistical/interview data; Los Angeles County, California
SH: social control; police, penology, & correctional problems (1653)
CC: 1653; 1600
AN: 92Y6497
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
DA: Verba,-Sidney; Kelman,-Steven; Orren,-Gary-R.; Miyake,-Ichiro; Watanuki,-Joji; Kabashima,-Ikuo; Ferree,-G.-Donald,-Jr.
JN: Public-Interest; 1988, 91, spring, 88-93.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: brv Book-Review
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1988
PD: 1987
SH: social differentiation; social stratification/mobility (1019)
CC: 1019; 1000
AN: 89a62350
AV: UMI
TI: The Jail: Managing the Underclass in American Society (see IRPS No. 32/86c00625)
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
DA: Irwin,-John
JN: American-Scholar; 1987, 56, 1, winter, 120,122-123.
CO: ASCOAA
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: brv Book-Review
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1987
PD: 1985
SH: social control; police, penology, & correctional problems (1653)
CC: 1653; 1600
AN: 87a48040
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
JN: Public-Interest; 1985, 81, fall, 3-16.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1985
AB: It is argued that most social problems can be traced to defects in human character formation, specifically, a lack of virtue that prevents people from acting responsibly, moderately, & in a law-abiding manner. Purely economic approaches to public policy analysis & social reform in the areas of education, welfare, public finance, & crime are doomed to failure unless they take into consideration this moral dimension of human behavior. Moral philosophy supplies a fuller statement of the potential uses of economic thought. Governments must assume responsibility for character formation & find ways of strengthening it in youth. K. Hyatt (Copyright 1987, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Morality- (D539700); Public-Policy (D682200)
IP: human character formation, moral defects, social problem implications
SH: social planning/policy; social policy & decision-making sciences (7210)
CC: 7210; 7200
SB: SOPODA
AN: 87P6132
AV: UMI
AU: Kaestle,-Carl-F.; Smith,-Marshall-S.; Lazerson,-Marvin; Ravitch,-Diane; Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: U Wisconsin, Madison 53706
JN: Harvard-Educational-Review; 1982, 52, 4, Nov, 383-408.
CO: HVERAP
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
NT: Responses, 409-418.
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1982
AB: A major historical trend in US education has led from local & parental control of schooling to increasing centralization & government funding. Since 1940, the role of the federal government in this process has been crucial. National aid to education has typically grown in periods of military confrontation, among them the Cold War. Developments in federal intervention in education since then have included the National Defense Education Act, Title I of the 1965 Elementary & Secondary Education Act, desegregation efforts, & a major build-up of programs in the 1970s. Despite the Reagan administration's intent to reverse this trend, federal involvement will remain necessary to solve many current problems of education. In Responses, Marvin Lazerson (U of British Columbia, Vancouver) sees Kaestle's & Smith's views as a reassertion of a liberal position on education. However, the position is flawed in its belief that liberal aims can be attained without serious costs to anyone, & its reliance on administrative solutions & diagnoses that sidestep real political issues. Diane Ravitch (Columbia U, New York, NY) suggests that Kaestle & Smith: overstate the continuity between nineteenth-century state intervention & twentieth-century federal intervention; understate the role of federal judicial involvement; underestimate the importance of crisis in bringing educational change, partly because they identify crisis solely with war; underestimate the impact of the National Defense Education Act & the significance of federal aid as a contribution to school budgets; & treat too lightly public dissatisfaction with federal interventions. James Q. Wilson (Harvard U, Cambridge, Mass) suggests that federal educational policy has been shaped by a confusion between claims & rights that have been widespread in US politics since the mid-1960s. The origin of these policies in a period of crisis, the involvement of civil rights activists, the involvement of the courts, & the silence of Congress have contributed to this confusion. W. H. Stoddard (Copyright 1986, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Federal-Government (D294600); Educational-Policy (D246300); United-States-of-America (D890700); Elementary-Education (D252300); Secondary-Education (D748800); Financial-Support (D302100)
IP: elementary/secondary education, federal government's role, US, 1940-1980; article/responses
SH: social planning/policy; social policy & decision-making sciences (7210)
CC: 7210; 7200
SB: SOPODA
AN: 86P5188
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.; Herrnstein,-Richard-J.
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
PB: 639pp, CI, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
DT: bka Book-Abstract
LA: English
PY: 1986
AB: An attempted definitive study of the causes of crime, in VI PARTS & 20 Chpts, with an author's Preface. PART I - EXPLAINING CRIME - (1) Crime and Its Explanation-indicates the focus on crimes of violence & theft, & introduces the discussion of patterns in criminality & ways of measuring crime rates; (2) A Theory of Criminal Behavior-sets out the basic theory of crime as a function of choice: based on the assumption that behavior is determined by its consequences, the forces that control individual behavior are examined, especially the concept of "expected value" & the importance of delay. PART II - CONSTITUTIONAL FACTORS - examines the biological & psychological factors that predispose to criminality. Evidence is presented that the average offender is constitutionally distinctive, though not extremely so. Youth, M gender, low intelligence, & impulsiveness are shown to be connected with crime: (4) Gender; (5) Age; (6) Intelligence; & (7) Personality and Psychopathology. PART III - DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS - investigates ways in which family & school influence can moderate or magnify predispositions through patterns of reinforcement: (8) Families; (9) Broken and Abusive Families; & (10) Schools. PART IV - SOCIAL CONTEXT - presents (11) Community-which considers the effects of place difficult to measure, though some subcultures do seem to affect members' values; (12) Labor Markets-concludes that crime & unemployment probably have common causes, rather than an effect relationship; (13) Television and the Mass Media-finds TV viewing may increase aggressiveness & a sense of inequity, but evidence to date is not conclusive; (14) Alcohol and Heroin-notes the direct effects of alcohol consumption & the indirect effects of heroin; (15) Altering the Social Context-reviews government strategies such as rehabilitation programs, & points out the difficulty of making changes in the complex network of rewards & risks. PART V - HISTORY AND CULTURE - contains (16) Historical Trends in Crime-which identifies three major factors that influence the long-term trends in the crime rate: the age structure of society, the benefits of crime, & broad social changes relating to society's investment in self-control; (17) Crime Across Cultures-assesses the extent to which familial & cultural factors account for national differences in crime rate; (18) Race and Crime-finds some support for each of four competing theories of black crime. PART VI- CRIME, HUMAN NATURE, AND SOCIETY - includes (19) Punishment and Personal Responsibility-which examines the appropriateness & the justification of punishment; (20) Human Nature and the Political Order-argues that there is such a thing as human nature, which develops in interaction with constitutional & social factors; & compares different views of human nature. 14 Tables, 29 Figures, 1 Appendix, 1250 References. (Copyright 1986, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Criminology- (D186600); Crime- (D184800)
IP: crime explanations; 20-chpt study
SH: social problems and social welfare; sociology of crime (2147)
CC: 2147; 2100
SN: 0-671-54130-7; 85-8371
AN: 86c00743
AU: Noll,-Roger-G.-[Ed]; Rosenberg,-Laurence-C.; Lowi,-Theodore-J.; Ferejohn,-John; Friedman,-Lawrence-M.; DeLong,-James-V.; Nader,-Laura; Nader,-Claire; MacLennan,-Carol; Fiorina,-Morris-P.; Riker,-William-H.; Derthick,-Martha; Quick,-Paul-J.; Shepsle,-Kenneth-A.; Slovic,-Paul; Fischhoff,-Baruch; Lichtenstein,-Sarah; Winett,-Richard-A.; Caplow,-Theodore; Scott,-W.-Richard; Abolafia,-Mitchel-Y.; Ackerman,-Bruce-A.; Wilson,-James-Q.; Selznick,-Philip
IN: Stanford U, CA 94305
PB: ix+400pp, no index, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
DT: bka Book-Abstract
LA: English
PY: 1985
AB: A vol in the California Series on Social Choice and Political Economy, under the editorship of Brian Barry & Samuel L. Popkin. This collection of essays represents a synthesis of the findings of the 1982 Conference on Regulation and the Social Sciences held at Reston, Virginia, in V PARTS & 11 Chpts, with a Preface by Laurence C. Rosenberg. PART I - AN OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH ON REGULATION - contains (1) Roger G. Noll-Introduction-which discusses the premise of the book, that research on regulatory policy in disciplines other than economics should be encouraged. (2) Roger G. Noll-Government Regulatory Behavior: A Multi-Disciplinary Survey and Synthesis-reviews the literature on regulation & recommends investigating the empirical importance of political & organizational influences on decisions. PART II - REGULATION IN THE LARGER SOCIAL SETTING - includes (3) Theodore J. Lowi-The State in Politics: The Relation between Policy and Administration-argues that the form of an agency & of its regulations is dependent on the type of legislative rule it enforces. Government agencies in the US & France are analyzed & classified into regulatory, distributive, redistributive, & constituent types. Appendix A lists Bureaus or Services in the Federal System Arranged According to Policy Area. Appendix B contains Ministries and Directions in the Government of France, Classified by the Mission of Each Direction. A Comment by John Ferejohn concludes the Chpt. (4) Lawrence M. Friedman-On Regulation and Legal Process-discusses regulation as it operates through the law & sees the legal system as a reflection of the social & moral beliefs of society, with a Comment by James V. DeLong. (5) Laura Nader & Claire Nader-A Wide Angle on Regulation: An Anthropological Perspective-applies the holistic approach to the study of regulation in complex societies, with a Comment by Carol MacLennan. PART III - THE POLITICS OF REGULATION AND DEREGULATION - contains (6) Morris P. Fiorina-Group Concentration and the Delegation of Legislative Authority-which discusses a model of political incentives that influence legislators to delegate regulatory powers to administrative bodies, with a Comment by William H. Riker. (7) Martha Derthick & Paul J. Quick-Why the Regulators Chose to Deregulate-explores why agencies deregulated before congressional legislation mandated the reform, with a Comment by Kenneth A. Shepsle. PART IV - APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC METHODS: CASE STUDIES - includes (8) Paul Slovic, Baruch Fischhoff, & Sarah Lichtenstein-Regulation of Risk: A Psychological Perspective-explores regulation in terms of research in cognitive psychology on human intellectual ability & the perception of risk, with a Comment by Richard A. Winett. (9) Theodore Caplow-Conflicting Regulations: Six Small Studies and an Interpretation-discusses six empirical studies carried out by the Instit for the Study of Social and Legal Change & the General Accounting Office in 1980 & 1981, on regulatory conflict & the relation of organizational structures to the management of perceived conflicts between regulations. Several hypotheses are advanced & directions for future research are identified, with a Comment by W. Richard Scott. (10) Mitchel Y. Abolafia-Self-Regulation as Market Maintenance: An Organizational Perspective-examines behavioral issues in self-regulation & motives in commodity futures exchanges, & concludes that self-regulation may be pro-competitive in reducing transaction costs to all parties, with a Comment by Roger G. Noll. PART V - THE RESEARCH AND POLICY AGENDA - includes (11) Bruce A. Ackerman-Integrating Themes and Ideas: Cost Benefit and the Constitution-which discusses two contributions social scientists can make to the constitutional law: (A) defining credible institutional mechanisms that foster technically competent bureaucratic decisions & (B) redesigning congressional incentives to encourage legislators to invest energy in defining the ultimate objectives of regulation. James Q. Wilson-Neglected Areas of Research on Regulation-compares possible strategies for research & recommends a combination of comparative case studies & systematic, outcome-oriented data. Philip Selznick-Focusing Organizational Research on Regulation-comments on some aspects of public & private bureaucracy as they bear on regulation. 7 Tables, 9 Figures, 516-item Bibliog, 1 Appendix. (Copyright 1986, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Political-Economy (D639500); Government-Policy (D333900); Government-Regulation (D334200); Social-Science-Research (D798900)
IP: regulatory policy, social science issues; 11-chpt conference paper collection
SH: political sociology/interactions; sociology of political systems, politics, & power (0925)
CC: 0925; 0900
SN: 0-520-05187-4; 85-16515
AN: 86c00654
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.; Cook,-Philip-J.
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
JN: Public-Interest; 1985, 79, spring, 3-8.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1985
AB: The belief that a clear link exists between the homicide rate & level of unemployment is questioned. The correlation of homicide & unemployment found in 1976 & 1984 US Congress Joint Economic Committee reports was based on the monographs of M. Harvey Brenner of Johns Hopkins U, Baltimore, Md (no publication information given). Brenner, however, ignored the effects of the repeal of capital punishment on homicide rates, & misunderstood the effect of WWII on the 1945-1973 homicide rate. Furthermore, attempts by Philip J. Cook & Gary A. Zarkin ("Homicide and Business Conditions: A Replication of H. Brenner's Analysis," Duke U, 1983; & "Homicide and Economic Conditions: A Replication and Critique of M. Harvey Brenner's New Report to the US Congress," Duke U, 1985 [mimeos]) to duplicate Brenner's findings proved unsuccessful, & Brenner's procedures are found to be flawed. R. McCarthy (Copyright 1986, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Unemployment-Rates (D887100); Homicide- (D365400)
IP: unemployment/homicide rate, correlation validity
SH: social problems and social welfare; sociology of crime (2147)
CC: 2147; 2100
AN: 86Q4391
AV: UMI
AU: Pruitt,-Charles-R.; Wilson,-James-Q.
JN: Law-and-Society-Review; 1983, 17, 4, fall, 613-635.
CO: LWSRAA
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1983
AB: Data from Milwaukee, Wisc, covering the period 1967-1977, are used to estimate the effect of race & other variables on sentences given to 1,512 criminal defendants charged with armed robbery or burglary. Longitudinal data & interviews of judges & attorneys are used to overcome problems of sample selection bias. The evidence shows that race had a clear effect on both the decision to imprison & the length of prison terms in the earliest period, 1967/68, but not in the later 2 periods, 1971/72 & 1976/77. The racial neutrality of sentencing in the later periods appears to be due to changes in the composition of the judiciary, a greater bureaucratization of the prosecutorial & defense bar, & the rise of decision rules reducing the effect of judicial ideology on outcomes. 5 Tables, 2 Appendixes, 21 References. Modified HA (Copyright 1984, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Sentence/Sentences/Sentencing- (417030); Race/Races/Racial/Racially-see-also-Relations,-Race (366000); Prejudice/Prejudices/Prejudiced- (345000); Wisconsin- (489940)
IP: prison sentencing; racial neutrality; 1967-1977 longitudinal data; robbers/burglars, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
SH: social control; sociology of law (1636)
CC: 1636; 1600
AN: 84O0022
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
JN: Public-Interest; 1983, 70, winter, 22-48.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1983
AB: Cultural factors in long-term variations in the US crime rate are discussed, focusing on periods of low crime & the social movements consciously addressing public morality. Agents of the nineteenth-century "bourgeois" or "Victorian" morality are examined, including the Sunday-school, revival, & temperance movements often linked to causes such as prohibition; the "character-building" focus of such groups is emphasized, noting their establishment of alternative institutions during a period of urbanization & fragmentation of the traditional rural family. The growth of a self-expression ethos & its influence on childrearing (at least as propounded by intellectual elites) from the 1920s on is also documented, & is seen as a primary factor in increasing crime since the 1960s. The competing influences of individualist & communalist theories of government (as derived from Thomas Hobbes & John Locke on the one hand, & Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the other) are analyzed, stressing the decline of legislated "common morality" & the spontaneous growth of community-level organizations addressing crime directly or indirectly. L. Whittemore (Copyright 1984, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: United-States/US (477200); Crime/Crimes-see-also-Criminal (119100); Culture/Cultures/Cultural/Culturally- (119600)
IP: US crime rate, long-term variations; cultural factors; low crime periods, social movements addressing public morality
SH: social problems and social welfare; sociology of crime (2147)
CC: 2147; 2100
AN: 84N8654
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.; Boland,-Barbara; Jacob,-Herbert; Rich,-Michael-J.
JN: Law-and-Society-Review; 1981-82, 16, 1, Feb, 163-169.
CO: LWSRAA
NT: Rejoinder, 171-172.
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1981
AB: A continuation of a debate on the effects of police arrests on crime incidence. In a previous report (see SA 27:2/J8973), a cross-sectional study of 35 US cities indicated that: (1) a rise in the arrest rate accompanied a drop in the incidence of robberies, & (2) the deterrent effect of high arrest rates appeared contingent upon organizational decisions typical of "reformed" city administrations. Criticisms of these findings in a 9-city, 30-year longitudinal study by Herbert Jacob & Michael J. Rich are summarized & evaluated. Responses include: (A) a defense of the use of moving violations as a control for robbery arrests, both seen as indicative of patrol strategy & aggressiveness; (B) a more detailed explanation of equations applied to data, to counter the charge of spurious negative r; (C) a critique of the model correlating police expenditures with crime incidence, noting that arrest levels may be independent of financial resources; & (D) the need for the number of arrests/crimes committed ratio (omitted by Jacob & Rich) in assessing risk of arrest as a crime deterrent. The use of longitudinal aggregate data & the lack of interaction analysis are stressed as key weaknesses. In The Effects of the Police on Crime: A Rejoinder, Herbert Jacob & Michael J. Rich (Northwestern U, Evanston, Ill) remark that Wilson & Boland originally recommended additional time-series analysis of arrest patterns; the longitudinal data show consistent findings in both reformed & unreformed cities for rising arrest/crime rates. L. Whittemore (Copyright 1983, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Police/Policing/Policemen- (339425); Crime/Crimes-see-also-Criminal (119100)
IP: crime, Herbert Jacob's-Michael J. Rich's police effect hypothesis challenged, rejoinder
SH: social control; sociology of law (1636)
CC: 1636; 1600
AN: 83M8287
AU: ----; Glazer,-Nathan; Steinfels,-Peter; Wilson,-James-Q.; Birnbaum,-Norman
JN: Partisan-Review; 1980, 47, 4, 497-521.
CO: PRTSAR
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1980
AB: Participating in a symposium seeking to assess the effectiveness of neoconservatist thought for finding answers to the US's domestic & foreign problems, Nathan Glazer (Harvard U, Cambridge, Mass) identifies areas of agreement & disagreement between socialists & neoconservatives, & notes that leftists are likely to be hampered by ideological beliefs from perceiving the facts on social welfare & economic progress. Complications with US social policy are illustrated in the case of a Boston redevelopment project. Peter Steinfels notes that neoconservatism provides a service by keeping issues such as government size, taxes, & expenditures in the public eye, & in connection to a theory of the "new class" of educated professionals who may function as an adversarial group in modern society. However, neoconservatism is too supportive of US business, & not supportive enough of egalitarianism, equitable participation, & other social goals. James Q. Wilson (Harvard U, Cambridge, Mass) identifies the province of neoconservatism as a concern for traditional US values regarding the family, community, religion, & personal well-being. The argument of zero-growth advocates is criticized, as is the anticorporatism of leftist ideologues. Norman Birnbaum (Georgetown U, Washington, DC) describes basic themes in contemporary conservatism-confidence in a free market economy, distrust of big government, reaction against egalitarianism, etc-& notes the diversity among so-called neoconservative positions. Disbelief is expressed in the relatedness of neoconservatism to true conservatism. D. Dunseath (Copyright 1983, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Conservative/Conservatives/Conservatism- (112600); Domestic/Domestics/Domestication/Domesticated- (136325); Foreign- (185500)
IP: neoconservative thought, US domestic/foreign problems, symposium
SH: political sociology/interactions; sociology of political systems, politics, & power (0925)
CC: 0925; 0900
AN: 83M7900
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
JN: Annals-of-the-American-Academy-of-Political-and-Social-Science; 1980, 452, Nov, 13-21.
CO: AAYPAV
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1980
AB: Most people assume that the police can do little to stop violence, but there is little evidence for that assumption. The police have frequent contacts with both communal & stranger/instrumental violence that might allow effective interventions. If police records tabulated violent crimes according to the relationships of victims & offenders, rather than according to the legal categories; if police departments mounted careful experiments to test the effects of different ways of dealing with communal violence; & if the police made greater efforts to detect & confiscate illegally carried guns, then they might-or might not-be more successful in reducing violent crime. HA (Copyright 1982, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Violence/Violent- (480600); Police/Policing/Policemen- (339425); Intervention- (240965)
IP: communal/stranger/instrumental violence continuation; police intervention
SH: studies in violence; studies in violence (2858)
CC: 2858; 2800
AN: 82M5308
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
JN: Public-Interest; 1980, 61, fall, 3-17.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1980
AB: Robert Martinson's "What Works?-Questions and Answers about Prison Reform" (The Public Interest, 1974, no additional publication information given), in which it was concluded that, with few exceptions, prison rehabilitation programs were ineffective, sparked a lively debate. The academic community generally concluded that Martinson was right & that, if anything, he was too conservative in his interpretation of the data. Since then, new relevant evidence has appeared. Two studies, one by C. Murray & L. Cox (Beyond Probation: Juvenile Corrections and the Chronic Delinquent, Beverly Hills, Calif: Sage Publications, 1979) & another by L. Empey & M. Erickson (The Provo Experiment, Lexington, Mass: D. C. Heath/Lexington Books, 1972), provide a better quantitative measurement because they use rates instead of proportions as the outcome measure, & suggest that some reform measures might work, if the study of deterrence & of rehabilitation are merged. The gist of the Murray/Cox proposal is that local jurisdictions should look at the effect of a given program on the rate of behavior of a given set of offenders. Were this done, they argue, it would become clear that there is a demonstrable correlation between restrictive forms of delinquent supervision (whether in community or institution) & desired behavioral changes. S. Karganovic (Copyright 1982, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Criminal/Criminals/Criminality/Criminally-see-also-Crime (119125); Rehabilitation- (380000); Effect/Effects/Effectiveness- (148425); Prison/Prisons/Prisoner/Prisoners- (346000); Reform/Reformed/Reformer/Reformers/Reformism/Reformist/Reformists/Reforms- (377600)
IP: criminal rehabilitation effectiveness, prison reform; Robert Martinson's article vs C. Murray's/L. Cox's, L. Empey's/M. Erickson's studies; rates vs proportions outcome measures
SH: social control; police, penology, & correctional problems (1653)
CC: 1653; 1600
AN: 82M4847
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
JN: Public-Interest; 1981, 64, summer, 31-46.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1981
AB: The current role of intellectuals in public policy is one of instituting major changes, comparable to the role played by New Deal intellectuals. Two crucial ideas of US culture that influence the role of intellectuals are belief in the rationalization & moralization of society, & belief in natural rights; though at times the two are in conflict. Intellectuals play an important role by providing simplifications of policy issues that can guide specific policy decisions. Examples of poor intellectual work in the area of policy include the Phillips Curve, the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction, & advocacy of heroin decriminalization; examples of good work include support for deregulation, awareness that intangible aspects of schooling such as teacher quality are of great importance in schooling outcomes, & awareness that the criminal justice system has little chance of rehabilitating prisoners. Better conclusions emerge when more nearly experimental methods are used & when many different investigators are involved. Good work in new policy areas is rare; intellectuals can accomplish more by examining existing policies than by offering recommendations for new policies. So far as scholars can generate new ideas, they can best do so by presenting new visions of public policy to be tested (eg, education vouchers, criminal deterrence, the volunteer military, & supply side economics). In other words, what intellectuals offer to policy debates is theory. W. H. Stoddard (Copyright 1982, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Public- (362970); Policy/Policies- (339500); Intellectual/Intellectuals/Intellectualism-see-also-Intelligentsia (236500)
IP: policy intellectuals' public policy function
SH: social differentiation; sociology of occupations & professions (1020)
CC: 1020; 1000
AN: 82M4635
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.; Boland,-Barbara
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
JN: Law-and-Society-Review; 1978, 12, 3, spring, 367-390.
CO: LWSRAA
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1978
AB: The effect of police practices on the rate of robbery in 35 large US cities is assessed by a simultaneous equation system model. The measures of police resources (patrol units on the street) & police activity on the street (moving violation citations issued) are more precise than anything thus far available in studies of this kind, & permit the use of identification restrictions that allow stronger inferences about the causal effects of crime rates than has heretofore been possible. Police resources & police activity independently affect the robbery rate after various socioeconomic factors are controlled. The political context of police activities has significant implications for policy conclusions derived from this analysis. 3 Tables, Appendix. Modified HA (Copyright 1979, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Police/Policing/Policemen- (339425); Crime/Crimes-see-also-Criminal (119100); Model/Modeling/Models- (274400); Arrest/Arrests- (037500); Policy/Policies- (339500); Deterrence/Deterrent/Deterrents- (131150)
IP: crime, police impact; US cities, robbery rates, police resources, activity, political context, policy implications
SH: social control; sociology of law (1636)
CC: 1636; 1600
AN: 79J8973
AU: Boland,-Barbara; Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: Urban Instit, Washington DC & Harvard U, Cambridge MA 02138
JN: Public-Interest; 1978, 51, spring, 22-34.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1978
AB: Young Ms commit a disproportionate number of serious crimes. In particular, a disproportionately large fraction of murders, rapes, robberies, & assaults is committed by Ms aged less than 18. There are indications, also, that only a small fraction of crimes committed by this group leads to arrests. Yet adults are likelier to be arrested, convicted, & given heavier sentences. The special procedures used in dealing with juvenile crime contribute to this problem, ensuring that the heaviest punishments will fall on offenders near the ends of their criminal careers. It would be virtually impossible to sentence all juvenile criminals to prison, but some punishment should be given for all juvenile crimes, & the records of juvenile & adult systems should be better integrated. W. H. Stoddard (Copyright 1979, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Delinquency,-juvenile (126140); Crime/Crimes-see-also-Criminal (119100); Criminal/Criminals/Criminality/Criminally-see-also-Crime (119125); Justice- (247427); Punishment- (364000); Imprisonment-see-also-Incarceration (226700)
IP: juvenile criminals, special procedures critique; need for punishment, criminal justice system, imprisonment, records
SH: social control; sociology of law (1636)
CC: 1636; 1600
AN: 79J8930
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.; Rachal,-Patricia
JN: Public-Interest; 1977, 46, winter, 3-14.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1977
AB: A discussion of the extent to which one government agency can modify the behavior of another, noting that "in general, it is easier for a public agency to change the behavior of a private organization than of another public agency." Several government agencies & their activities are cited as examples of existing constraints on achieving badly-needed changes. Affirmative-action employment policies are offered as the clearest example of the weakness of intragovernmental controls. Organizational autonomy exists, as does mutual independence, among government agencies. With regard to the problem of bureaucracy, everyone agrees about the undesirability of "excessive government regulation." However, equally important is the growing problem of the "inefficacy of government regulation caused by the shift of functions from the private to the public sector." J. Shiffer (Copyright 1978, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Govern/Governing/Government/Governmental/Governments- (196500); Agency/Agencies- (020200); Organization/Organizations/Organizational/Organize/Organizers/Organized/Organizing- (313000); Bureaucracy/Bureaucracies/Bureaucrat/Bureaucratic- (067800); Regulation/Regulations- (379500)
IP: government, interagency behavior modification; regulatory bodies, intragovernmental controls weakness, organizational autonomy, bureaucracy, public private sectors
SH: complex organization; bureaucratic structure/organizational sociology (0624)
CC: 0624; 0600
AN: 78J0495
AV: UMI
AU: ----; Coleman,-James-S.; Janowitz,-Morris; Johnson,-Harry-G.; Lekachman,-Robert; Mayer,-Martin; Moynihan,-Daniel-P.; Nisbet,-Robert; Orlans,-Harold; Wilson,-James-Q.
JN: American-Scholar; 1976, 45, 3, Sum, 335-359.
CO: ASCOAA
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1976
AB: A 2-paragraph comment on Robert Nisbet's article "Knowledge Dethroned" appearing in a 1975 issue of The New York Times magazine (no other publication information available) which concerns the "decline in public prestige" of the scholar-scientist was sent to a number of distinguished American social scientists for their response to several questions concerning a loss of public confidence in the ability (both present & future) of social scientists to provide important knowledge about the solution of social problems & the formation of social policy. Responses included the following thoughts from: (1) James S. Colemen (U of Chicago, Ill)--the public's changed perspective toward social scientists is not simply one of lost confidence, but a "more complex one that involves both the power & the faults of social scientists." (2) Morris Janowitz (U of Chicago, Ill)--"An advanced industrial society requires a mass of day-to-day as well as longterm social intelligence...social scientists remain indispensable in supplying such basic information, & there is no indication that this role is declining...." (3) Harry G. Johnson, (U of Chicago, Ill)--while there has indisputably been a loss of public confidence in the usefulness of social scientists & the loss is merited, "one must, however, be wary of the American tendency to blame people for responding to the social forces that act on them, & particularly for not sternly refusing to accept greatness when PO seems to be thrusting it upon them." (4) Robert Lekachman (City U of New York, NY)--it is doubtful that the "more extravagant claims of social scientists were ever widely accepted beyond the learned journals." (5) Martin Mayer--"any collective enterprise calling itself a 'science' will be judged & rewarded by its success in answering if/then questions...both conceptually & practically, the social sciences failed through their inability to formulate the 'if' clauses in their questions." (6) Daniel P. Moynihan (Harvard U, Cambridge, Mass)--during the 1960's 'social science' prescriptions for social policy had "much currency, & the style grew steadily more debased...in that same period, however, there was another social science of a different quality, making for profoundly different policy prescriptions...." (7) Harold Orlans--the loss of confidence in social scientists & their trade is "attributable in part to their excess, pretensions, & follies, but in larger part to distressing social & economic conditions & patent public policy failures that have made their pretensions more manifest." (8) Thomas Sowell (U of California, Los Angeles)--the real question regarding reduction in public respect for intellectuals is "not why this has happened, but why it took so long to happen...." (9) James Q. Wilson (Harvard U, Cambridge, Mass)--"Whatever went wrong with policy-making, it remains to be proved that social scientists had much to do with it...were the facts known, they would show that social scientists were of inconsequential importance in most major issues of policy." J. Shiffer (Copyright 1977, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Public- (362970); Prestige- (345500); Reduction/Reductive/Reductivism- (376750); Nisbet,-Robert-F. (298950); Social-science/Social-sciences/Social-scientific (432700); Symposium/Symposiums/Symposia- (453700)
IP: social sciences vs public disenchantment, symposium; R. Nisbet's article, J. S. Coleman, M. Janowitz, H. G. Johnson, R. Lekachman, M. Mayer, D. P. Moynihan, H. Orlans, T. Sowell, J. Q. Wilson
SH: methodology and research technology; methodology (conceptual & epistemological) (0103)
CC: 0103; 0100
AN: 77I7380
AV: UMI
AU: WILSON,-JAMES-Q.
IN: HARVARD U, CAMBRIDGE MA 02138
JN: Public-Interest; 1975, 39, SPR, 125-129.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1975
AB: "DIRECTOR'S LAW OF PUBLIC INCOME DISTRIBUTION," AS FORMULATED BY G. STIGLER, INDICATES THAT GOVERNMENTS WILL REDISTRIBUTE RESOURCES TO FAVOR THE DOMINANT CLASS, WHICH IN THE US IS THE MC, WHICH, IN TURN, HAS BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF VIRTUALLY ALL REDISTRIBUTIVE MEASURES. THEREFORE, THE MC OUGHT TO BE FAVORABLY DISPOSED TO GOVERNMENT. HOWEVER, POLLS INDICATE A WIDESPREAD DISENCHANTMENT WITH & DISTRUST OF IT. 2 REASONS ACCOUNT FOR THIS PARADOX. GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN UNABLE TO SOLVE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS & CONTROL SOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS WHICH ADVERSELY EFFECT MC INTERESTS. MORE IMPORTANTLY, GOVERNMENT DECISIONS AIDING FACTIONS OF THE MC HAVE DISADVANTAGED THE MC AS A WHOLE & THUS ARE VIEWED AS THE PRODUCT OF CONTROL BY "BIG INTERESTS." BECAUSE OF ITS ROLE IN THE ARTIFICIAL INFLATION OF FOOD PRICES, HEALTH CARE, & TRANSPORTATION, FOR EXAMPLE, GOVERNMENT HAS COME TO BE VIEWED AS A CREATOR OF PROBLEMS. F. HYDOSKI (Copyright 1976, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Social-class/Social-classes (429800); Govern/Governing/Government/Governmental/Governments- (196500)
IP: MIDDLE CLASS & THE GOVERNMENT
SH: social differentiation; social stratification/mobility (1019)
CC: 1019; 1000
AN: 76I2167
AV: UMI
AU: WILSON,-JAMES-Q.
IN: HARVARD U, CAMBRIDGE MA 02138
JN: Public-Interest; 1975, 41, FALL, 77-103.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1975
AB: BUREAUCRACY AS AN UNACCOUNTABLE CENTER OF POLITICAL AUTHORITY IS USUALLY UNDERSTOOD TO BE A FUNCTION OF THE SIZE & COMPLEXITY OF MODERN GOVERNMENT, IN EFFECT A CONCOMITANT OF MODERNITY. AGENCY HISTORY & BEHAVIOR IN THE US, HOWEVER, SHOWS SUCH FACTORS TO BE INADEQUATE IN EXPLAINING THE GROWTH OF BUREAUCRATIC POWER. RATHER, THE DECISIVE FACTORS WOULD SEEM TO BE THE TASKS PERFORMED BY AGENCIES, THE CONSTITUTIONAL & POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT, & THE PREFERENCES, DESIRES, & DECISIONS OF CITIZENS & LEGISLATORS WITH WHOM, & FOR WHOM, AGENCIES WORK. THE POST OFFICE & THE DEFENSE DEPT, 2 OF THE LARGEST BUREAUCRACIES, ARE THE DIRECT RESULT OF POLITICAL DECISIONS & THE NATURE OF THEIR TASKS. THE CLIENTISM OF REGULATORY AGENCIES IS LARGELY THE RESULT OF THE SYSTEM OF SEPARATION OF POWERS & FEDERALISM PROVIDED FOR IN THE CONSTITUTION, & THE NATURE OF THE TASKS STIPULATED IN LEGISLATION & DEMANDED BY SPECIAL PUBLIC & PRIVATE INTEREST GROUPS. BUREAUCRATIC INERTIA CAN ALSO BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM. ALL OF THESE FACTORS COMBINE TO SUGGEST THAT BUREAUCRATIC AUTHORITY IS NOT A NECESSARY FEATURE OF GOVERNMENT & COULD BE OVERTURNED BY LEGISLATIVE DECISION. F. HYDOSKI (Copyright 1976, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Govern/Governing/Government/Governmental/Governments- (196500); Bureaucracy/Bureaucracies/Bureaucrat/Bureaucratic- (067800); Power- (341000)
IP: GROWTH OF BUREAUCRATIC POWER IN THE US
SH: political sociology/interactions; sociology of political systems, politics, & power (0925)
CC: 0925; 0900
AN: 76I2126
AV: UMI
AU: WILSON,-JAMES-Q.
IN: HARVARD U, CAMBRIDGE MA 02138
JN: New-Society; 1975, 33, 675, SEP 11, 579-581.
CO: NWSOAN
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-Kingdom
PY: 1975
AB: AARON DIRECTOR HELD THAT PUBLIC INCOME REDISTRIBUTION BY GOVERNMENT WILL BE ARRANGED TO BENEFIT WHICHEVER GROUP OR CLASS IS IN CONTROL. IN THE US THIS MEANS THE MC. EXAMPLES OF SUBSIDIES WHICH ARE PAID FOR BY TAXES ON EVERYONE BUT WHICH PRINCIPALLY BENEFIT THE MC ARE: PUBLIC EDUCATION, FARM SUBSIDIES, SOCIAL SECURITY, & UR RENEWAL. YET DISTRUST OF GOVERNMENT BEHAVIOR (NOT NECESSARILY ITS MOTIVES) HAS RISEN IN EVERY STRATUM OF SOCIETY, INCLUDING THE MC. AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS PARADOX MIGHT BE THE RISE OF PROBLEMS SUCH AS CRIME WHICH GOVERNMENT "WOULD LIKE TO SOLVE BUT CANNOT" (EXCEPT TO RAISE THE SALARIES OF MC CRIMINOLOGISTS). ANOTHER MIGHT BE THE INCREASE OF POWER IN INSTITUTIONS OVER WHICH THE MC HAS NO CONTROL, SUCH AS THE COURTS WHOSE JUDGES ARE NOT ELECTED. THE SAME RESEARCH BY ARTHUR H. MILLER THAT DOCUMENTED THE INCREASE IN POLITICAL DISTRUST ALSO FOUND INCREASED POLARIZATION & SUPPORT FOR EXTREME SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS. GOVERNMENT POLICIES UNDER THE US CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM WHICH BENEFIT ONE PARTICULAR COMPONENT OF THE MC WORK TO THE DISADVANTAGE OF ANOTHER COMPONENT; THUS FREE HOSPITAL CARE FOR THE ELDERLY CAUSES INFLATIONARY PRESSURE ON THE COST OF MEDICAL SERVICES FOR EVERYONE. AS THE MC INCREASES IN SIZE & INEQUALITY LESSENS, THE DEMAND GROWS STRONGER THAT IT BE COMPLETELY ABOLISHED, BUT THE LAST REMAINING PROBLEMS MAY BE THE MOST INTRACTABLE. TO MEET THESE DEMANDS, "OLD GAINS WOULD HAVE TO BE ABOLISHED--A PROSPECT THAT NO ONE RELISHES." J. N. MAYER (Copyright 1976, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Power- (341000); Govern/Governing/Government/Governmental/Governments- (196500); Social-class/Social-classes (429800)
IP: GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER MIDDLE CLASSES
SH: social differentiation; social stratification/mobility (1019)
CC: 1019; 1000
AN: 76H9809
AV: UMI
AU: Eisinger,-Peter-K.; Wilson,-James-Q.
IN: U Wisconsin, Madison 53706
JN: Urban-Affairs-Quarterly; 1974, 9, 4, Jun, 437-461.
CO: UAQUAM
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
NT: Comment, 462-465.
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1974
AB: A number of scholars have argued that the urban crisis in America may be attributed at base to a failure of community. 2 ways of defining community in this contest are James Q. Wilson's notion of a communal consensus on norms of acceptable public behavior & the intimate political community of the community control advocates. To test whether people see a failure of community in either of these senses, survey data from Milwaukee are examined. Evidence suggests that neither a quest for a lost community of shared norms nor for an intimate decentralized political community are major preoccupations of whites or blacks in that city. The urban crisis must probably be defined in other ways. In A COMMENT ON EISINGER, James Q. Wilson (Harvard U, Cambridge, Mass), states that Eisinger provides data that suggest that the problem of community may not be as salient for or as widespread among urban residents as others have suggested. Communal problems are mentioned first by nearly half the sample. Eisinger oversampled among the blacks. It is the elite members of society who define what they think is happening to the average person that explains the curious & unrealistic development of much federal urban policy in the 1960's. Modified AA (Copyright 1975, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Urban-see-also-Ru/Ur (478000); Community/Communities/Communitarian- (104000)
IP: urban & community crisis in America
SH: urban sociology; urban sociology (1218)
CC: 1218; 1200
AN: 75H6345
AV: UMI
AU: Wilson,-James-Q.; Moore,-Mark-H.; Wheat,-I.-David,-Jr.
IN: Harvard U, Cambridge, Mass
JN: Public-Interest; 1972, 29, Fall, 3-28.
CO: PBCIA4
AVA: Document delivery from University Microfilms International (UMI).
DT: aja Abstract-of-Journal-Article
LA: English
CP: United-States
PY: 1972
AB: The problem of the heroin addict & the debate over how to treat him are examined. The "punitive" vs the "Med" approach has not necessarily led to diametrically opposed policies. No generally accepted theory supported by well-established facts exists to explain why some persons become addicts & others do not. The formulation that "pushers" inflict heroin use on unsuspecting youth is rejected as a myth. It is equally erroneous to assume that all heroin addicts turn to crime to support their habit. In a random sample of adult Negro M's studied in St. Louis, Mo, 60% of those who tried heroin & 73% of those who became addicted to it had previously acquired a police record. Once addicted, however, persons are likely to commit more crimes than they would have had they not become addicted. The futility of the arguments between the so-called "punitive" & "Med" approaches to addiction, the simplistic nature of unqualified recommendations that the US adopt the "British system," & the imprecision of angry disputes between those who wish to "get tough" on "pushers" & those who wish to "decriminalize heroin" is pointed out. Above all, the underlying philosophical issue must be dealt with: whether the state is ever justified in protecting people from themselves, or whether it can only intervene to protect an innocent party from the actions of someone else. More res is needed on the consequences of a carefully controlled heroin maintenance program such as the one proposed by the Vera Instit in New York City. If society believes that it must prevent addiction, then a substantial measure of legal compulsion will have to accompany any treatment program. M. Maxfield (Copyright 1974, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
DE: Drug-addict/Drug-addicts/Drug-addiction-see-also-Addict (140500)
IP: A critical analysis of approaches to the problems of heroin addiction & addicts
SH: social problems and social welfare; sociology of crime (2147)
CC: 2147; 2100
AN: 74G8340
AV: UMI
SOURCE: Sociological Abstracts