Carol Y. Thompson

RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM, PUNITIVENESS, AND FIREARMS OWNERSHIP

ABSTRACT Previous research finds links between religious fundamentalism and punitiveness and between punitiveness and gun ownership. Utilizing 1988 NORC General Social Survey data, this research tests the idea that religious fundamentalism is related to both religious and civil punitiveness and that such punitive orientations increase the likelihood of firearm ownership. The results suggest that the influence of religion on punitiveness varies by race. We find that religious punitiveness is associated with gun ownership among African Americans while civil punitiveness is associated with such ownership among whites. The results are attributed to the differential roles of religion in the lives of African Americans and White Americans.

REPRESENTING GANGS IN THE NEWS: MEDIA CONSTRUCTIONS OF CRIMINAL GANGS

This research, based on a content analysis of 4,445 newspaper articles, examines the images that emerge from stories of criminal gangs and societys responses to them. Eight recurrent themes were identifed. It was discovered that articles devoted to the coverage of gang crimes were outnumbered by stories dealing with various community responses. Articles reporting the results of scientifc research on gangs constituted the smallest category. The results are discussed in light of their importance in the construction of social problems discourse and the maintenance of symbolic power and social control.This research, based on a content analysis of 4,445 newspaper articles, examines the images that emerge from stories of criminal gangs and societys responses to them. Eight recurrent themes were identifed. It was discovered that articles devoted to the coverage of gang crimes were outnumbered by stories dealing with various community responses. Articles reporting the results of scientifc research on gangs constituted the smallest category. The results are discussed in light of their importance in the construction of social problems discourse and the maintenance of symbolic power and social control.

Helpmates of the Rodeo Fans, Wives, and Groupies

This article provides an ethnographic account of women as supporting agents for professional cowboys and the rodeo enterprise. This research draws from participant observation, field interviews, western folklore and historical accounts, and Internet group discussions to provide a frame for and interpretation of womens patronage of rodeo cowboys. The primary data are derived from interviews with rodeo cowboys and women who are involved in rodeo life in various supporting roles. Interviews with professional cowboys provide validation of the vital nature of supporting roles for the success of rodeo careers. The analysis places womens supporting performances in historical and ideological contexts and illuminates the gendered nature of the rodeo as a professional sport.

PREDICTING HOUSEHOLD VICTIMIZATION UTILIZING A MULTI-LEVEL ROUTINE ACTIVITY APPROACH

ABSTRACT Previous studies utilizing the “routine activity approach” have been relatively unsuccessful at predicting household victimization. This study discusses some of the limitations of previous research and eliminates several methodological problems by employing a multivariate, multi-level analysis of household victimization utilizing the household as the unit of analysis. Specifically, we combine household-level measures and routine activities and household-level perceptions of the neighborhood and crime prevention behaviors to better predict household larceny and burglary. Data for this study were derived from the National Crime Survey: Victim Risk Supplement (VRS), a nationally representative sample of 14,258 households in the United States. The findings argue for disaggregated measures of household victimization and the existence of unique opportunity structures for burglary and larceny victimization events.

Cooling out the mark in companion animal adoption

This research examines conflict resolution in the companion animal adoption process. Such adoptions typically occur in public settings where volunteers (1) advise potential adopters about the physical, emotional, and environmental needs of companion animals; (2) evaluate adopters and the environment the companion animal will inhabit; and (3) assess the quality and quantity of interaction the adopted cat or dog will receive in the home. The process often involves adjusting adopters’ perceptions and expectations and occasionally rejecting applicants. Our analysis revealed the use of rhetorical devices by adoption workers to soften the blow of rejection. When rejected applicants refuse to accept adoption worker “accounts” for their decisions, the interactions often become acrimonious. In such cases, adoption workers typically resort to “cooling-out strategies” to restore the face of the rejected applicant, protect the reputation of adoption workers and the group, and control the appearance of discord to facilitate successful adoptions.

The Selves of other Animals: Reconsidering Mead in Light of Multidisciplinary Evidence

Although questions about nonhuman animal mind and selfhood have been a long-standing interest of philosophers, psychologists, biologists, and cognitive ethologists, sociologists have been reluctant to acknowledge the importance of such questions. This is due, in part, to George Herbert Mead’s denial of consciousness, especially self-consciousness, in animals. Indeed, the exclusion of nonhuman consciousness was a fundamental axiom of Mead’s very conceptions of mind and self. However, recently a growing number symbolic interactionists have begun to build a body of research that demands a reconsideration of Mead’s anthropocentric and phonocentric definitions of mind, self, and the nonhuman participants who cohabit the everyday world of social life. Here we provide a brief account of their work and present evidence from evolutionary biology, cognitive ethology, and neuroscience that strongly validates their contention that the processes of consciousness and self, which constitute the cornerstone of meaningful social action and interaction, can no longer be denied to several species of nonhuman animals.

Gender, Attributions of Responsibility, and Negotiation of Deviant Labels in Small Groups

Incorporating both attribution and labeling theory, this article examines the negotiation of deviant labels in small groups, with emphasis on how that process is influenced by attributions of responsibility and the gender of group members. Pressures associated with goal-directed groups make deviant labeling and resistance a common occurrence, especially when the actions of members significantly interfere with group goals or normative expectations. Findings based on the analysis of narrative responses to vignettes demonstrate the prevalence and importance of accounts and conciliatory actions for mitigating group conflict and avoiding negative outcomes. Calling problematic members into account while avoiding hostile undertones effectively initiates dialogue and facilitates the negotiation of group strategies for completing tasks. However, the data also suggest that while deviant group members frequently offer accounts for objectionable behavior, such accounts are rarely honored by conforming members. The results also support previous work showing that women are more likely than men to use calls for accounts to seek mutually satisfactory solutions to group problems. In addition to accounts and conciliatory gestures, displays of interpersonal hostility and the formation of coalitions against the deviant were also found to be consequential elements of the deviance negotiation process.

Transiting Social Worlds: Accounts of Formerly Married Lesbians

Abstract The research presented in this article focuses on understanding the lives of women who transit from heterosexual marriage to lesbian identity. The authors explore the social and interpersonal contexts in which lesbians enter, exist in, and exit heterosexual marital relationships. Substantive information for this study is derived from interviews conducted with women who identify as lesbian and have in the past been heterosexually married. The interviews focus on transitions in lifestyle and identity and the influence of (ex-)spouses, children, parents, friends, and lovers in various contexts and phases of transition. An important element of this research is the illumination of the ways in which women navigate and experience the straight and lesbian social worlds. The life histories of formerly married lesbians highlight the limits of current cultural definitions of social and sexual categories for these women. This research shows the need for greater awareness, understanding, and acceptance of the variances in womens sexual lives by researchers, media, and the public.

The psycho‐femme: Identity norm violations and the interactional dynamics of assignment

This research examines the social category of “psycho” as it applies to women in psycho‐femme thrillers, a film genre identified in the analysis. Psycho‐femme thrillers use a female lead who is in social and psychological conflict with other film characters, who are usually women. The conflicts emanate from the female lead and focus on her behavior and social relationships. This article illuminates the importance of identity norm violations in defining the psycho‐femme and the social contextual dynamics involved in the process of assignment. Finally, the larger, symbolic importance of film characterizations of the women “psycho” is discussed. The films examined were major releases from 1992 and 1993; they involved a woman or women as the main character; the lead female, character was presented as psychologically deviant; and they were found to constitute a unique film genre.

Morality as a Discursive Accomplishment among Animal Rescue Workers

Abstract A sociological view of moral decision making suggests that it is frequently an interactionally constructed product of the discourse of groups. Here we utilize ethnographically-derived email conversations to analyze the discursive construction of decisions among members of a volunteer group faced with a moral dilemma. We focus on their use of three key linguistic resources—moral vocabularies, moral rhetoric and moral narratives. We find each of these resources instrumental in constructing a discourse that allows groups to resolve such problems, while simultaneously shoring up group solidarity, protecting the basic principles the group, and salvaging the moral identities of its members.