C. Allen Haney

Spontaneous Memorialization: Violent Death and Emerging Mourning Ritual

Violent deaths stand out in stark relief against the contemporary social climate of controlled private death and grieving. Both uncontrolled and public violent deaths call into question some of our most fundamental cultural values and prompt spontaneous rituals to publicly express individual and collective grief. We refer to these new rituals as spontaneous memorialization and to the impromptu shrines that result from this memorialization as spontaneous memorials. In this article, we introduce both concepts, delineate the characteristics of this emerging American mourning ritual and use it to illustrate our contention that death ritual is important in the contemporary United States but that it is changing form in response to the needs of a changing society.

Sport Films: Social Dimensions Over Time, 1930-1995

Sport films depict sociocultural issues in American society and serve as a purveyor of values, mores, and customs. This study examines and analyzes American sport films over time (1930-1995). Emphases were placed on various trends, including sports depicted in films and their shifts over time, film content and theme, social and cultural relevance, and technological impacts. Archival research and content analysis were employed for 590 films. The major findings were (a) major shifts in the number of sport films and the proportion of particular sports among all sport forms during the 66-year period; (b) numerous shifts in the content, especially with respect to physical contact in contrast with non–physical contact sports; (c) the fewest number of sport films for the 1960s contrasted with any decade; and (d) a shift in the frequencies of sport films by their associations with socioeconomic sports.

Life events as precursors of coronary heart disease

Abstract A vast literature has developed regarding the relationship of life events and coronary heartdisease. This article is an assessment of the most commonly reported generalizations from this body of work. A model or conceptual scheme is offered which links these disparate generalizations.

The Rodeo Cowboy Cultural Icon, Athlete, or Entrepreneur?

North American rodeo, once considered a festival pastime engaged in by nomadic ranch hands, has evolved into a contemporary sport form. Given its cultural trappings and savvy business and marketing strategies, rodeo has experienced a rise in popularity. Furthermore, with other sport forms falling into fan disfavor due to the behavior of owners, coaches, and players, rodeo appears to offer a purer, less complex, competitive environment whereby competitors pit their skills against a myriad of unknowns for a financial purse. The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural milieu of the rodeo cowboy in an attempt to thoroughly examine and ultimately answer the question, Is the American rodeo cowboy a cultural icon, athlete, or entrepreneur? Ethnographic and archival research methods were employed in the collection and corroboration of data for this study. The findings suggest that the contemporary North American rodeo cowboy is a cultural icon, athlete, and entrepreneur.

Illness behavior and psychosocial correlates of cancer

Abstract A recurrent theme in the literature on cancer is that which reports various psychosocial precursors. These factors have ranged from those which focus upon the personality of the individual to those which are associated with various life events such as death of a loved one or divorce. Numerous explanations and interpretations have been offered to account for these findings. It has been asserted that these factors operate through their influence on such processes and mechanism as the limbic system, endocrine system, hormone levels or the central nervous system. The explanation offered here however is that these events can determine the extent to which one attends to his body, and the nature of an individuals illness behavior, that is the ways in which the individual perceives, evaluates, and acts upon the messages and sensations of his body.

Some Consequences of Illegitimacy in a Sample of Black Women

This research compares southern black women who have had illegitimate births with those who have had only legitimate births, with regard to their attitudes about the desired and ideal number of children, pregnancy, marriage, and abortion. Meaningful differences were found, by legitimacy status, for number of children desired, attitude toward pregnancy, and attitude toward marriage. The analysis suggests that it is the absence of a legal spouse rather than the definition of a birth as illegitimate which exerts the most important effect on these attitudes among the women in our sample.

Characteristics of Black Women in Male- and Female-Headed Households

Recent evidence indicates that approximately 30% of the black households in the United States are headed by women (Price, 1969; Hill, 1971). This figure is nearly three times as great for blacks as it is for whites, but the fact remains that female-headed households are still a clear minority among blacks. Nevertheless, this point is often overlooked and female household headship has been cited as both the cause and the effect of the disadvantaged position of blacks in this country. Although 70% of the black households are not headed by women, the popular conception of the femaleheaded household with all its assumed pathology persists as the stereotype of the black family (Kriesberg, 1970). That myths and biases associated with this point of view appear in the works of social scientists as well as in the public mind has been clearly documented (Billingsley, 1968; Staples, 1971).