Ronald C. Wimberley

An inventory for the identification of child abusers

Conducted a literature review to identify personality traits that are characteristic of individuals who abuse and neglect children. On the basis of reported traits, a Child Abuse Potential Inventory that consisted of 334 items was constructed. The Inventory was administered to 19 abusing and 19 matched nonabusing parents. An item analysis was conducted to identify those items that discriminated between abusers and nonabusers. While the best 7 items accounted for slightly over 90% of the variance, the top 25 discriminators accounted for 99% of the variance. A principal axis factoring with oblique promax rotations was performed. Four factors, or dimensions, were identified. They were: loneliness, rigidity, problems and control. Additional analysis indicated that rigidity and problems dimensions were the best predictors of abuse.

AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN PEOPLE AND PLACES: ENDING THE LEGACY OF POVERTY IN THE RURAL SOUTH

This study focuses on the longstanding impoverishment of the rural South and three of its subregions-Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, and the Black Belt. The poor quality of life in rural Appalachia and along the Mississippi Delta has been publically acknowledged by programs and commissions for improving conditions. However, the more comprehensive Black Belt subregion that links parts of Southern Appalachia and the Southern Delta has not received such regional policy attention. While the South as a whole is more rural and impoverished than other U.S. regions, this is largely due to the poor conditions in the Black Belt. In addition to region and rurality, a third feature of the pattern is race. It is in the Black Belt that the Souths poor socioeconomic conditions are most concentrated. Policy and program attention are needed for regional solutions that take rurality and race into account along with demographic and other subregional characteristics.

Testing the Civil Religion Hypothesis

The purpose of this study is to measure civil religion and to test Bellahs hypothesis of a separate civil religious dimension. An essentially transcendent conceptualization of civil religion is assessed through factor and cluster analyses. Indicators of civil religion are observed to form a distinct composite variable which juxtaposes other dimensions of religion and politics. These results confirm thefindings of earlier research on civil and church religiosity and extend supportfor the civil religion hypothesis to the context of political commitments as well.

Dimensions of Commitment: Generalizing from Religion to Politics

Several dimensions of religious commitments have been proposed and studied in the sociology of religion. These are taken as empirical generalizations which may be applicable to politics. Results of data from a metropolitan sample are factored, obliquely rotated, and interpreted. As hypothesized, corresponding sets of dimensions result for religious and political variables. Rather than thefive dimensions originally sought, six are considered to be more in line with the empirical results. Although the first order dimensions show religious and political parallels, distinct second order arrangements were found. Relationships among commitment dimensions both within and between the religious and political spheres are also examined.

The Challenge of Training in Applied Sociology.

This paper adds to the current dialogue in our discipline regarding the challenge of expanding nonacademic employment opportunities for sociologists and training our students for such employment. The argument is made that this challenge should be seen as an opportunity for us to demonstrate the relevance of our knowledge and expertise to society and to advance the intellectual development of our discipline. Moreover, the achievement of these benefits does not require sacrificing the distinctive intellectual core of sociology as a humanistic liberal arts discipline. To help bridge the gap between academic and nonacademic cultures, several interrelated strategies are suggested that address issues of marketing and public relations, as well as curriculum revision. The internship, as a key feature of “applied” programs, is crucial in terms of both training students and facilitating our contacts with potential employers.

Civil religion, social indicators, and public policy

What are the effects of civil religion on American society and culture? As a phenomena which presumably serves to integrate the political with the religious sectors of the national culture in the minds of citizens, it would seem that civil religion should have political consequences. Limited work has shown that civil religious beliefs help predict ones preference among presidential candidates. However, there have been no tests of civil religion as an indicator of public policy preferences. This investigation explores such relationships. While civil religion significantly related to stands on various public policies, these relationships are weak except in comparison to many other types of social indicators. Furthermore, civil religions political impact on public policy orientations would appear less than its impact on the selection of presidential candidates.

Alam and Alas: Questioning Error Assignments in Unidimensional Guttman Scaling:

When researchers use the Guttman scalogram rather than multidimensional techniques, scalogram error assignment techniques should be questioned. An alternative to the customary minimizing error rule is suggested through ALAM and ALAS criteria which use ordinal information in scalable item marginals.

Dimensions of Nutrition Knowledge among Preadolescent Girls.

This report examines the underlying dimensionality of a nutrition knowledge test for preadolescent girls. Two hundred and six nine-year-old girls were given the items. In contrast to the manner in which nutrition knowledge has previously been measured in research, analysis of the results indicates that their nutrition knowledge is multidimen sional. One of the dimensions is conceptualized as “differentiated eating” and the other as “vitamin importance.” Further analytic work should be enhanced using a mul tidimensional perspective on nutrition knowledge rather than the less precise approach of assuming that such knowledge is monolithic.

Comparing Package Programs for Factor Analysis

Earlier comparisons of packaged programs for factor analysis are updated because of recent revisions in some programs. The top status of SPSS is no longer so apparent as formerly. BMD and SAS now have expanded options. SAS has flexibility and convenience.

Self-concepts and occupational prestige among vocational-technical students☆

Abstract This research examines the relationship between the self-concepts and subprofessional occupational prestige ratings of junior college occupational students. Based on cognitive consistency theory, it is hypothesized that high self-concepts are associated with higher prestige ratings for subprofessional occupations. Contrary to such theory, this is not found to be the case. Several alternative interpretations are offered.