Arnold Arluke

Selecting ethnographic informants

That Which is Explicit in Ethnography The Problems of Informant Selection Selection Based on an A Priori Framework Selection Based on an Emergent Framework A Look Ahead

The Relationship of Animal Abuse to Violence and Other Forms of Antisocial Behavior

Results from this study challenge the assumption that animal abusers commonly “graduate” from violence against animals to violence against humans. The criminal records of 153 animal abusers and 153 control participants were tracked and compared. Animal abusers were more likely than control participants to be interpersonally violent, but they also were more likely to commit property offenses, drug offenses, and public disorder offenses. Thus, there was an association between animal abuse and a variety of antisocial behaviors, but not violence alone. Moreover, when the time order between official records of animal abuse and interpersonal violence was examined, animal abuse was no more likely to precede than follow violent offenses. Although these findings dispute the assumption that animal abuse inevitably leads to violence toward humans, they point to an association between animal abuse and a host of antisocial behaviors, including violence. Also discussed are the methodological problems of demonstrating sequential temporal relations between animal abuse and other antisocial behaviors.

Sacrificial symbolism in animal experimentation: object or pet?

AbstractBased on ethnographic research in biomedical laboratories, this paper argues that sacrifice is an ambivalent notion in the culture of animal experimentation, requiring both objectification of and identification with the animal. Because of this ambivalence, laboratory animals are not accorded a single, uniform, and unchanging status but seen simultaneously as objects and pets. Animals are objectified by incorporation into the protocol, by deindividualization, by commodification, by isolation, and by situational definition. At the same time, laboratory workers develop pet-like relationships with the animals, which may be treated as enshrined pets, liberated pets, saved pets, or martyred pets.

The Making of Rehabilitation: A Political Economy of Medical Specialization, 1890-1980

Focusing on the history of one medical field--rehabilitation medicine--this book provides the first systematic analysis of the underlying forces that shape medical specialization, challenging traditional explanations of occupational specialization.

An exploratory analysis of sex differences in gossip

This study examined sex differences in the quantity, targets, tone, and topics of gossip in the conversations of 76 male and 120 female college students. Contrary to popular beliefs, results indicated that the gossip of men and women contained similarities as well as differences. The data revealed that women spent more time gossiping than men and that women were much more likely than men to gossip about close friends and family members. However, no significant sex differences were uncovered regarding the derogatory tone of gossip and men and women were found to gossip about many of the same topics.

Physical Cruelty Toward Animals in Massachusetts, 1975-1996

This article describes the nature of animal abuse and the response of the criminal justice system to all cruelty cases prosecuted by the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals between 1975 and 1996. Dogs were the most common target; when combined with cats, these domestic animals composed the vast majority of incidents. Almost all of these animals were owned, and females were the majority of complainants. Suspects were almost always young males, and most of the time they allegedly shot, beat, stabbed, or threw their victims. Reportedly, adults were more likely than minors to abuse dogs, shoot them, and commit such acts alone rather than in a group, while minors were more likely to abuse cats, beat them, and commit such acts with peers present. Less than half of the alleged abusers were found guilty in court, one-third were fined, less than one-quarter had to pay restitution, one-fifth were put on probation, one-tenth were sent to jail, and an even smaller percent were required to undergo counseling or perform community service.

FROM APPREHENSION TO FASCINATION WITH “DOG LAB” The Use of Absolutions by Medical Students

Forty-one first-year medical school students were interviewed regarding their expectations of and experience in a physiology laboratory where live, anesthetized dogs were injected with drugs and surgically manipulated before being killed. Before going into lab, there was widespread uneasiness among most students regarding the moral implications of their anticipated use of dogs as experimental tools. However, students described the lab in very positive terms after going through it. The findings suggest that this change in attitude stems from the ability of students to neutralize the moral dirty work of “dog lab.” The authors argue that this is possible because the students learn absolutions that permit denial of responsibility and wrongdoing.

A Sociology of Sociological Animal Studies

I am convinced that the most formidable barriers to the future development of sociological nonhuman animal studies are internal rather than external to sociology. The obstacles come from sociologists, both those who do and do not do research in this area, and how they think about the study of humananimal relationships. As I considered these barriers, and how future research could address or remedy them, I found myself asking some “old” questions that some sociologists have asked before, such as why is there a lack of interest within sociology to animal studies, and some new questions, such as should sociologists who do animal studies adopt a different approach to this area? Despite the fact that some of these issues are inevitably part of the formation and growth of any new specialty, I do not think it is a waste of time to pose these “sociology of sociology” concerns and revisit them from time to time to foster healthy self-reflection and awareness, if not some new strategies for growth.

Ethnozoology and the future of sociology

Three questions are explored regarding ethnozoology’s place in sociology. First, why has sociology been slow to explore this subject or to give it much credibility? Resistance by sociologists to ethnozoology is strikingly ironic, given the discipline’s willingness in recent years to consider the plight of virtually every human minority. Although androcentric and conservative biases no doubt are part of this resistance, it is suggested that significant resistance comes from sociologists involved in the study of various oppressed groups. Second, what has sociology done to study ethnozoology so far? Acritique is made of prior attempts to categorize research in this area along topical lines. Instead, the value of theoretically organizing this literature is advocated. Finally, how should sociology proceed with ethnozoological research? An argument is made for increasing applied research. Two exemplars are provided, including the trend by police to racially profile urban pit‐bull owners and the growth of uneasiness among veterinary students who resist the traditional use of animals as educational tools.

LEARNING THE SCIENTIST'S ROLE Animal Dissection in Middle School

Based on fieldwork in sixth-grade science classes, this article looks at how students managed the dissection of fetal pigs. Although most students were initially ambivalent and squeamish about dissecting, they learned to transform the animal and the situation into one that was not only neutral but positive. By transforming their contact with the fetal pigs, accentuating the positive, avoiding part or all of the dissection, becoming macho, and using light-hearted humor, the students could regard the animals as mere specimens and not feel ethically or emotionally uneasy. It is argued that this transformation serves as a rite of passage into the scientific community.