Theoretical expectations of participatory theorists (e.g. Pateman, Blumberg) are applied to labor management committees (LMCs) in an effort to predict the spillover effects of workers' participation in firm decision-making on their political and social participation. The two focal points are Jamestown, N.Y. and Buffalo, N.Y. Witte has argued that conditions may obstruct the hypothesized spillover effects from occurring: co-optation, structural impotence, and misrepresentation. In Jamestown and Buffalo, evidence that all three can be expected is found. The hypothesized spillover effects are not likely to emerge from the LMC experiments in the areas studied. It is suggested that structural impotence is perhaps the major obstruction to the spillover effect in these cases and in firms in capitalist economies.
This research makes use of the qualitative analysis of interview data to explore the effects of infertility on sexual satisfaction and perceived marital intimacy. Intensive interviews were conducted with twenty-two couples living in Western New York. Couples were located through a "snowball" sampling technique. Marital partners were interviewed concurrently by two separate interviewers. Most of the couples in our study reported unsatisfactory sex lives. Our analysis of infertile couples' descriptions of the effects of infertility on sex uncovered four major themes; sex was adversely affected (1) due to having to schedule intercourse; (2) because intercourse became a means to an end; (3) because privacy was invaded when physicians and others required information about couples' lovemaking; and (4) because the act of intercourse itself was a reminder of the couples' infertility. In spite of their unsatisfactory experiences with sex, half of the people in our study reported that their marriages had become closer rather than more distant because of the experience of infertility. Couples who saw infertility as a shared problem to be faced together seem more likely to report that the experience of infertility has brought them closer together. Implications of these data for clinical practice are discussed.
The social ethics of relief giving (the bases on which relief ought to be given) in natural disaster situations are explored through a case study of public reactions to Red Cross activities. Red Cross policies and public reactions to them are reviewed, and survey data pertaining to attitudes toward the Red Cross and toward relief giving in natural disasters of residents of a western New York county are presented. Specifically, public satisfaction with present Red Cross dis:ribution policies is explored, and public perceptions of "loss vs need" as bases for relief giving are examined. Although there are some qualifications, findings show a large segment of the public supporting bases other than "need" for the distribution of disaster services. This is especially true for those who have actually received disaster aid. Implications are that the public does not always support a redistributive role for relief giving, but in some cases with some populations expects relief giving to reinforce the status quo.
This paper calls for the enfranchisement of respondents into research decision making. Respondent participation is one way to overcome respondent posturing to control information. Respondent posturing is produced when researchers create an unbalanced exchange where respondents have no motivation to participate, or when, through their use of rewards, researchers change the rules of the game. Typical researcher-respondent relations are explored in relation to respondent posturing, and the problems and prospects of using respondent participation to create a more open and productive research relationship are examined. We conclude by pointing to respondent relations as an area in which social researchers need to be trained.
Little attention has been paid to the clinical aspects of relationships between groups involved in applied research. This article reports on how naturally appearing community groups with a vested interest in the outcome of a research study were involved in the research, thus strengthening their own sense of involvement At the same time, the willingness of the researchers to involve community groups in an open process strengthened the research Clinical sociology, by any other name, is an established concern of applied social research. Applied research is clinical to the extent that it deals with behavioral problems related to the collection of valid information and to the extent that it is part of a change-oriented process (Alderfer and Brown, 1975; Argyris, 1970; Leitko and Peterson, 1982). The clinical focus within applied research has been mostly at the individual level. Concern has focused on psychological defenses to information giving (Argyris, 1970), cognitive abilities relevant to information recall (Webb et al, 1966), researcher-respondent relationships (Bailey, 1982:189-91), and the impact of research on respondents (Bonacich, 1970; Kelman, 1967). Less attention has been paid to clinical aspects of group and intergroup relations within applied research settings. While the role of groups in information gathering and change processes has not been totally overlooked, only limited Correspondence to. Thomas A. Leitko, Division of Social Science, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Nonparticipation is the modal response of workers to worker participation schemes. Four case studies are analyzed to demonstrate how situational and role constraints in organizations make this the most practical adjustment. Organizational settings are viewed as socializing contexts that teach workers what is expected, what is valued, and what actually pays off. Lessons leading to nonparticipation include (1) “You're on the outside”; (2) “Don't look to work for satisfaction”; (3) “You don't know what's going on here”; (4) “You do what you're paid for”; and (5) “Participation costs.” The implications of this theoretical view for other forms of worker participation are outlined. Situational adjustment theory is argued to be a stronger explanation of organizational behavior than theories relying on “imported” values and needs.
Using qualitative data based on interviews with 22 married infertile couples living in western New York State, we describe the ways in which husbands and wives interact in the process of constructing their infertility. The wives experienced infertility as a cataclysmic role failure. Husbands tended to see infertility as a disconcerting event but not as a tragedy. Couples tended to see infertility as a problem for wives. Frustration and lack of communication were typical consequences of the confrontation of husbands' and wives' perspectives on infertility. Interactions with medical professionals tended to reinforce these consequences. These interactions between wives, husbands, and medical professionals may lead to taking wrong directions in treatment and to ignoring treatment options. Some of the problems we describe could be lessened by adopting a model of couple-centered treatment in a setting that incorporated routine counseling.
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