College of Behavioral & Social Sciences

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The Economic Development of Iran
(1948) Abbas, Ordoobadi; Ratzlaff, C.J.; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
In the machine age, with the advance of mass production, a new problem has occupied the minds of economists. This new problem is not the Malthusian doctrine of inadequate supplies but rather that of a rate of production too high to be sold continually at profitable prices. With periodic insufficiency of demand industrial countries have faced depressions of varying duration and intensity, which have continued until the rate of production and demand once more were in equilibrium. Despite increased industrial productivity a large part of the world subsists at a standard of living which provides insufficient food values and which does not yield a minimum amount of housing, medical care and education. In industrial countries from ten to fifty per cent of the working population is unemployed during depression periods although workers are willing and able to work in order to obtain goods. In the non-industrial countries, on the other hand, millions of workers are victims of what has been termed "disguised unemployment." They find themselves at tasks which are much below their potential productivity and consequently yield a standard of living substantially under that which they are capable of achieving. The solution to this problem in the undeveloped areas lies partly in spreading the gains of science, both pure and practical; in combining adequate doses of capital and management with the supplies of labor; and in using the excess of resources originating from technical advances in industrial countries . A program on this line would at the same time eliminate inadequate demand in the high-standard countries and depressing poverty in the low-standard countries. As far as Iran is concerned, it is necessary to know her economic background before the necessary measures for economic development can be discussed intelligently. In this respect, in spite of a few works by Iranian and foreign scholars, the materials on the economy of Iran, in English literature, are limited. The result of insufficient and first-hand information or "little knowledge" of some writers has been a distorted picture in which certain points are overemphasized, while the significance of others are under-estimated. Statistics, censuses and data in many aspects are lacking. The absence of statistics makes the study very difficult . Due to the scarcity of published data on many of the topics discussed in the present study, it has been necessary to secure the desired information and data directly from the Ministries of Iranian Government and/or offices concerned. The present economic situation of Iran is the product of an evolution, and can only be under stood by a study of its economic background. Therefore, the application of August Comte's adage that "no conception can be understood except through its history" seemed a logical approach in this study.
An Evolution of Land Use in Kent County, Maryland
(1953) Singleton, Carey B. Jr; Van Royen, William; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The object of this study is to determine the land use changes that have taken place in Kent County, located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland (See Fig. 1) with emphasis on recent land use changes. The principal objectives of this study will be to ascertain, analyze, and review the evolution of land utilization in Kent County. A major trend within the past ten years has been toward a decreasing number of farms and, at the same time, a decreasing number of people gainfully employed in agriculture. This trend has resulted in the displacement of agricultural earners by fa.rm machinery and farm consolidations. An increase in the average size of farms is due to "outsiders" - business men from out-of-state -- who have established themselves in the county by buying and combining principally waterfront property. Thus large estates are formed along with the restoration of Colonial homes. This type of land tenure has been bringing about utilization of the land in the form of large dairy and beef herds. Kent County has the smallest number of farms of all the counties in Maryland but it has the largest average farm size in the state. This is an area of predominantly large dairy farms with highly mechanized machinery and equipment. The major trend in the last 25 years has been from cash grain to livestock raising which has resulted from the growth of dairying. The pattern of field crops has also changed from cash grains to feed grains for the large dairy herds. This study has been accomplished through the use of field work historical data, tables, maps, and photographs. The assumption can be made that greater permanency and stability in land use may be assured by utilizing the land for what it is best suited to produce. In an agricultural county, such as Kent, the retention of the soil, maintenance of its fertility, and the productivity are fundamental and therefore, the outstanding problems of optimum land utilization in the county. Land use adjusted into a pattern set by man should be utilized according to its capabilities. Optimum production and use of the land may be obtained by utilizing it for purposes to which it is best adapted. This is essentially a geographical problem in the final analysis and is manifested by a myriad of socio-economic factors that compose the gamut of land use implications. The author's interest in this area emanates from a field course in Geography and a number of trips through parts of this county. Field work was accomplished during the spring and summer of 1952 and constitutes the primary source of data for this thesis. The initials of the author appear where compilation of maps and graphs have been drawn from research and field data. All photographs have been taken by the author during his field work in the county.
A Study of Factors Influencing Improvement in Speech Reading Ability
(1954) VanBebber, Mary Lillian; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
THE VOLUNTARY CREDIT RESTRAINT PROGRAM - A NEW EXPERIMENT WITH AN OLD PROBLEM
(1954) Singleton, Roy L.; Gurley, John G.; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The Chinese in Latin America, A Preliminary Geographical Survey with Special Reference to Cuba and Jamaica
(1956) Chang, Ching Chieh; McBryde, F. Webster; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The present study concerns itself with the geographical origin, distribution, routes of migration and ports of embarkation of the Chinese in Latin America. It also purports to bring out the similarities and dissimilarities in their demographic composition, economic activities and some other aspects in different Latin American countries. The term "Latin America" is used to include all the European possessions in the area, and the term "Chinese" is used to include all those of Chinese parentage, but not those born to Chinese who intermarried with individuals of other races. Chinese immigration to Latin America on a large scale did not begin until the eighteen forties. Between 1847 and 1874, known as the coolie trade period, about one quarter of a million Chinese migrated to Latin America as "contract laborers". The great majority of them were "forced" immigrants, because they were kidnapped or decoyed by the coolie recruiters and did not migrate voluntarily. After 1874, Chinese immigration entered a new era. All the immigrants came voluntarily. But the good time of free Chinese immigration did not last very long. In or before the first quarter of the 20th century, most of the Latin American countries adopted laws to prohibit the entrance of Chinese. The Chinese immigrants were primarily from nine hsiens (or counties) in Kwangtung province immediately behind the port of Macao. Only those in Jamaica were not from this area, but exclusively from three hsiens in the same province north of Hongkong. At the present time, there are about 77 thousand Chinese in Latin America, and their distribution is highly localized. The localization of the geographical origin and the geographical distribution can be explained only in terms of the special type of Chinese emigration in general and the early history of the Chinese migration to Latin America in particular. Moreover, the Chinese are mainly concentrated in large cities. This is the result of their occupation. Almost all of them are engaged in commerce, and particularly in the grocery trade. Therefore, in places where their number is large, they are very influential in the grocery business. The Chinese population in almost all Latin American countries is characterized by two demographical anomalies: the great excess of males and the abnormally large number of old and middle-aged people. This is owing to the fact that, within the past one hundred years, the number of females among the immigrants has always been extremely small, and a large portion of the population still consists of immigrants who came in or before the nineteen twenties. Generally speaking, there has been no segregation against the Chinese along racial lines. Nevertheless, social contacts between Chinese and natives remain on a business basis and are purely ·functional. Racial consciousness still plays an important role among the Chinese, native-born as well as immigrants. Among the immigrants, it is also because most of them retain their Chinese nationality and want to go back to China eventually. Thus, in Latin America, the Chinese are not only racial minorities but also groups of aliens.
Changing Observance of Traditional Jewish Religious Practices: A Study of Generations
(1956) Greenberg, Meyer; Hoffsommer, Harold C.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
Changes in the observance of traditional religious practices among Jewish families during the course of three generations are the subject of t his paper. The religious practices studied are those related to the cycle of the year--the Sabbath and holy days--and kashruth (the dietary laws). The population is a group of 180 families, chiefly from Baltimore and Washington, D.C., with children in the freshman class at the University of Maryland in the spring of 1949. The first generation, the grandparents, are in the main immigrants to the United States from Eastern Europe during the years of mass immigration which ended shortly after World War I. The second generation are the parents, most of them American born, while the third generation consists of freshmen at the University. For the earlier generations the interaction with the American environment is analyzed in terms of acculturation and social mobility. In the third generation attention is focused on changes in religious practice from the time the student was a child and under parental control, through his last year in high school, and then into the latter part of hi s first year at college. Information on the background of students and parents and on their religious observance was obtained by means of a questionnaire. This was followed by an interview to learn the circumstances surrounding changes in the student's observance. It was found that the parents belong almost entirely to the middle class and are engaged in business or the professions. The student group, of whom two-thirds are male, does not differ appreciably from the general student body either in scholastic aptitude or in grades. Upon analysis, the combinations of religious practices observed by the individuals were found to fall into seven repeated patterns or types. This classification system was used to compare the observance of the different groups into which the sample was divided. The relatively sharpest break with tradition occurred in the immigrant generation. The second generation continued to move in the same direction. The third generation departed even further from tradition, especially when under the influence of the college environment, but the rate of change appears to have slowed down. The process of discarding ritual practices has been a selective one. Observances which are frequent and involve economic sacrifice, such as the Sabbath and holidays, have been the first to be dropped. Others such as formal daily prayer and kashruth outside the home have been abandoned because of inconvenience and because they differ widely from accepted social norms. A minimum observance level seems to have been reached in the evolution of Jewish religious life. Attending synagogue and fasting on the High Holydays and participating in a Passover Seder are still observed by the overwhelming majority of American Jews. The lighting of Sabbath candles is widespread, and kashruth in the home is kept by a substantial number, though only a very small proportion of the students observe the dietary laws. The subjects of the study were also classified according to their self-identification with one of the three branches of Judaism--Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. It was found that while the first generation were overwhelmingly Orthodox, the members of the second and third generations have been moving increasingly into the Conservative and, to a lesser degree, the Reform groups. The Orthodox Jews indicate greater average observance than the Conservative, who in turn tend to observe somewhat more than the Reform. However, the observance of all three groups falls far below the standards set by the movements officially. In the student generation, the differences between the groups are further narrowed, and there appears a marked tendency toward similarity in observance patterns. Future studies are needed to analyze the continuing development and relative strength of the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform groups. It would also be worthwhile to learn whether the students here studied at what is thought to be the lowest point of their religious observance will modify their practices when they are married and have families.
Internal Migration to Osaka Prefecture, Japan
(1956) Lewis, David Michael; Hoffsommer, Harold; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
THE BANDUNG CONFERENCE
(1959) Newbold, Billy Charles; Government & Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
STANDARDIZATION AND THE UNITED STATES
(1959) Moench, John Otto Dax; Government & Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
For the past decade and more, the United States, through its military departments, other agencies of government, and private organizations, has placed a considerable investment in national and international standardization. A significant portion of this effort has gone into national standardization, but, with the increasing recognition of the principle of mutual defense and economic interdependence, an ever-increasing portion of the effort has been expended to achieve international standardization. However, in spite of good intentions and the application of considerable resources to achieve standardization, the results have been limited and the program, itself, has been marked with frustration, conflict, uncertainty, ignorance, open disagreement, and confusion. This is not directly a criticism of the personnel, agencies, and organizations participating in the program- - it is more a reflection of the conditions and circumstances encountered in society and in the processes of standardization. For four years (1954- 1958) the author of this thesis was in charge of the United States Air Force international standardization effort. During that period, he became uniquely concerned with many aspects of the United States national and international standardization programs. In consideration of this experience, while the author attended the Air War College of the United States Air Force (1958- 1959) he was given authority to conduct an extensive research of the problem of standardization. Based on this research and his personal experiences, the author then prepared for the United States government a lengthy history of the problem of standardization in the United States together with a discussion of the current national and international policy, organizational, and other problems. Due to the sources of much of the information used by the author in this governmental report and the nature of some of the conclusions, the document cannot be made public. However , since there is an almost complete lack of writings in the United States on this most vital national and international subject, the author considered it worthwhile to devote this thesis to discus sing those general portions of the problem that were not of a sensitive nature. In the bibliography appended to this thesis, the author has indicated the full range of the more important documents and information sources to which he has had access. It is not thereby implied that all the cited sources have been used directly in this thesis, but the listing will serve to give the reader a feel for the base upon which the author has built this thesis.
Problems Raised by Technological Advances on Copyright in Musical Recordings
(1961) Geraci, Philip Charles; Hathorn, Guy B.; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
This thesis attempts to point out a number of lacks in the present Copyright Act which exist because of recent advances in electronic technology. Specifically, it attempts to indicate the enormous growth of electronic entertainment for the home, and to show how this new form of entertainment poses problems concerning copyright which never have existed before. Since very few cases are on record which deal with the use of recorded music at home, it has been necessary to examine cases which deal with copyright and music in general terms and to draw analogies to adapt existing precedent to new situations. It is pointed out in some detail that the Copyright Act of 1909, still in effect today, does not treat present conditions as explicitly as might be liked, and results in considerable confusion where non- commercial and non-profitable use of recorded music is concerned. The subject is of vital interest to copyright attorneys, manufacturers of recordings and recording equipment, performing rights societies, artists, and amateur hobbyists since no thorough analysis of problems raised by home recording has ever been made. The handful of acknowledged authorities on the subject have only a personal opinion on the outcome of any hypothetical case dealing with home recording. Whether or not a home recordist violates the Copyright statute when he records music from a radio has never been officially determined. It is the intent of this paper to analyze the Copyright Act and its judicial and practical application and show how. by several lines of reasoning. home recording does not infringe. The thesis is divided into chapters which deal with the growth of modern technology. the present Copyright Act. performing rights societies and judicial interpretation. Finally. a concluding chapter offers a solution to the mounting problem of home recording as it could be treated in a general revision of the Copyright Act.
Land Use in Charles County
(1962) Langen, John S.; Van Royen, W.; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
The land use of Charles County does not basically differ from that in the past. Land in forest and land in farms are the two categories of land utilization. The great demand for tobacco on the overseas markets in the early days of the county's history, led to the introduction of this crop. Because of the favorable climate and soils, tobacco became soon the mainstay of the county's economy, a situation which still exists today. The purpose of the thesis was to determine which geographical factors and others accounted for the use of the land. In addition to field work, use was made of detailed statistical data. It was found, that the county could be divided into three sections. In the western section, land in forest was the dominating land use form. In the central section, land in forest and land in farms were about equal in areal extent, whereas in the eastern section, land in farms dominated. The reason was that soils in the western part became exhausted, and a shift to the eastern section took place. Landforms contributed much to the distribution of land in crops, especially for tobacco. Recently, a change in the use of the land is taking place. The encroachment of the Washington Metropolitan area, and the building of a major highway, connecting the North with the South, have induced farmers to sell their lands, which are converted into residential areas.
A Comparative Study of Certain Personality Characteristics of College Women Participating in Basketball and Modern Dance
(1965) Bird, Anne Marie; Johnson, Warren R.; Health Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Twenty-five college women attending the University of Maryland during the spring semester of 1963 were studied in an effort to determine whether or not there were any identifiable personality characteristics among those (14) who chose to participate in basketball, as compared to those (13) who chose to participate in modern dance. The subjects used in this study voluntarily chose the activity in which they participated. The California Psychological Inventory was used to evaluate the personality characteristics of the subjects. Analysis of the data showed that the basketball group scored significantly higher, at the 5 percent level of confidence, on the community scale. The modern dance group scored significantly higher, at the 5 percent level of confidence, on the scales measuring flexibility and femininity. A comparison of the group means for all other scales proved insignificant at the 5 percent level of confidence.
The Fair Housing Movement: An Overview and a Case Study
(1965) Noe, Kaye Sizer; Cussler, Margaret T.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The fair housing movement is a recent development in the general civil rights movement. While subscribing to the ideology of the general movement, community fair housing groups concentrate upon making middle-income, and particularly suburban, housing available to financially qualified Negroes. Few fair housing groups are affiliated with Negro civil rights groups, and most are all-white in membership. Their methods utilize many of the concepts first developed in sociology and social psychology; their programs emphasize community relations when a Negro move-in is imminent, property listing services which bypass the practices of discrimination entrenched in the real estate industry, and subscription by community members to open covenants. They seldom try to "force" integration using test cases, attempting rather to prevent discrimination against Negroes seeking homes in their communities and to avoid violence. The major portion of the research was a case study of a fair housing group in Greenbelt, Maryland. The program of this group emphasized a "planning" approach to integration and publicly avoided the moral-ethical arguments which have been central in the general civil rights movement. Such resistance as they encountered was from individuals concerned about the possible effect of Negro occupancy on property values in the older, low-income section of the city. The leaders of the group were active in civic activities, representative of most religious faiths, tended to be college-educated, and many had a history of affiliation with other "liberal" groups. Few were active in other facets of the civil rights movement. It was concluded that the fair housing movement tends to be moderate rather than radical in its membership and strategy, and that its scope (some 600 groups in metropolitan areas across the United States) represents near-spontaneous action at the grass-roots level based on a conviction that discrimination on the basis of race is wrong.
Economic Development in Southern Italy Since the Establishment of La Cassa per il Mezzogiorno
(1965) De Bone, Anthony Louis; Bennett, Robert L.; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The study begins with a survey of the social and economic structure of the area. Attention is then focused on the nature of economic dualism in Italy by pointing out that the Northern economy yields to those employed in it a reasonably high income per capita, while the Southern economy provides for those working in it a low income per capita. In 1950 the Italian Government undertook to increase the level of public investments under a ten-year development plan for the South. It entrusted the execution of this plan to a new agency, La Cassa per il Mezzogiorno . Its life was soon extended to 1965 and more recently to 1980. The ultimate goal of the program was to reduce the differences in the consumption and income levels between the North and the South and to integrate the South into the national economy. Southern developments since 1950 and their effects on the economy are discussed, with emphasis on the Cassa programs and investments. It is discovered that many serious obstacles must be overcome in order to change the economic structure of a region such as Southern Italy. Despite the large transfer of resources to this area, The economic structure has changed little since 1950. However, whatever judgment may be passed on the Cassa at a later date, it is apparent that until now production has been concentrated in those sectors that offer relatively little possibility of rapid growth.
Juvenile Delinquency and the Negro in Charles County, Maryland
(1966) Seaman, Thomas W.; Lejins, Peter P.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Are there differences between Negro and white juvenile delinquents? This was the question that constituted the basis for this exploratory study. The objectives of the project were to determine if Negro juveniles were proportionately overrepresented among juvenile delinquents and if there were differences in types of offenses committed by Negro and white delinquents. The differences found were analyzed in the light of socio-economic class differences between Negro and white delinquents. Previous research has tended to indicate that racial differences disappeared when socioeconomic class was held constant. The area selected for the project was Charles County, Maryland, because of the writer's access to court records and knowledge of the area. Delinquency rates were developed to determine if Negroes were proportionately overrepresented among delinquents and/or if lower class juveniles were overrepresented among delinquents. Delinquent offenses were divided into four types: offenses involving theft or attempted theft of property, offenses involving violence, offenses involving the destruction of property, and offenses injurious to the child himself. Delinquency rates were developed for Negro and white delinquents in each socio-economic class for each type of offense. A simple ecological investigation was conducted to determine if there were any significant patterns in the spatial distribution of the delinquents. The findings show that Negro juveniles were not significantly overrepresented among delinquents even though Negro delinquents were overrepresented among lower-lower class delinquents. White delinquents were found to be overrepresented among delinquents from the lower-middle and upper-lower classes. The analyses of types of offenses revealed that types of offenses could be identified with certain levels of the socio-economic structure regardless of race, but that differences existed between Negro and white delinquents within socio-economic classes. The ecological investigation indicated that there was no significant ecological pattern among county delinquents.
Social Reinforcement and Diurnal Rhythms in Baboons
(1966) Thach, John S. Jr; Gollub, Lewis R.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The frequency with which one monkey opened a door for two minutes of visual and physical contact with another monkey was examined as a function of several experimental procedures. In the first series of manipulations removal of the second monkey allowed a comparison between the effects of the social reinforcing object and the effects of the non-social stimuli incidental to delivery of the social reinforcer. During daily four-hour sessions, reinforcement rates (number of door openings/unit time) with a monkey in the adjacent cage averaged several times those when no monkey was in the adjacent cage. Removal of the second monkey did not significantly affect rates of food and water reinforcement, but removal of food and water contingencies did increase rates of door opening to an empty cage. Idiosyncratic factors contributed to above-zero rates when the cage was empty. For example, one subject's empty-cage rates were halved, and his amount of stereotyped rocking nearly stopped, by a wall placed next to the door. The existence of pertinent variables peculiar to the individual subject and to the particular apparatus directs attention to the necessity of control procedures. In the second set of conditions two baboons lived in the cages 24 hours a day and were under continuous illumination, as they had been for several months. During a short initial period when either monkey could open the door, and in a second longer period when only one could open the door, the monkeys had a very regular day length of approximately 14 hours, which remained synchronous with clock time. The experiment did not identify the pertinent elements entraining the monkeys' activities. This persisting alignment with clock time under reasonably stable conditions suggests that the entraining environmental stimuli were more subtle than those demonstrated in the literature. The monkeys also revealed a distinctive patterning of frequency of social contact as a function of time of day. The distribution had a midmorning peak, a midday low, and a minor afternoon peak, the same pattern recently documented as occurring in troops of wild baboons. This pattern was only barely noticeable in distributions from individual days, and became significant only when averaged across days. To a lesser degree, similar patterns were evident in distributions of food and water reinforcement rates. In the final set of procedures two levels of food deprivation, two levels of social deprivation, and two times of day were produced by alternating the subjects in morning and afternoon sessions, by conducting only morning or only afternoon sessions, and by pre-feeding and "pre-socializing" in a sequence designed to contrast the effect of one condition against another. Regardless of deprivation of social or other reinforcers, the subjects displayed a higher rate of social reinforcement in the mornings than in the afternoons. An early morning "pre-socializing" session slightly lowered the usual morning rate of social reinforcement, but preceding an afternoon session with a morning session, an early morning and a morning session, or by no session since the previous afternoon, had no effect on the afternoon social reinforcement rates. Independence of social reinforcement rates from variations in food deprivation, and low frequencies of eating with the door open implied that the presence of food did not appreciably affect rates of social reinforcement. These studies established social reinforcement under controlled laboratory conditions as a strong reinforcer capable of maintaining behavior over long periods of time, and elucidated a pertinent variable in social reinforcement, that of diurnal rhythms.
The State of Education in Afghanistan and the Application of a Linear Programming Model
(1969) Ulfat, Abderrahman; Bennett, Robert L.; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
In this study the role of education in economic development is briefly discussed; the state of education in Afghanistan is assessed and compared with a group of Asian countries. Through the application of a constrained maximization model the rate of return to primary education in Afghanistan is obtained. Discounted streams of income and cost, associated with different levels of education, were used as the coefficients of the equation which was set to maximize the return to education; the different categories of students and the needed teachers constrained the maximization of the afore-mentioned equation. The model thus described was also dynamic-given a group of youngsters it advanced them to higher levels of education and also generated the required number of teachers from those students. Education in the elementary level is found to be a profitable investment for Afghanistan to undertake. The rate of return to six years of education in this model is more than five percent and for the first three years it is more than ten percent.
Social Communication and Black Nationalism: An Application of Karl W. Deutsch's Model of Nationalism
(1970) O'Sullivan, Elizabethann; Wolfe, James H.; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
In Nationalism and Social Communication Karl W. Deutsch has developed a model to aid in the study of nationalism. The purpose of this model is to enable the researcher, investigating a national movement, to make some predictions concerning its outcome. The purpose of this thesis was to test the adequacy of Deutsch's model for a study of black nationalism in the United States, and to see what, if any, predictions might be made concerning the outcome of such a movement. The thesis was developed in accord with Deutsch's basic framework: evidences from psychological and sociological research to indicate the amount of social cohesion in the black community; applications of various demographic data to determine the direction and rate of assimilation; and, discussion of other factors, e.g., educational facilities, which will further influence the direction of assimilation. It was found that while there was some evidence of cohesion within the black community, the community felt that its values and goals could best be obtained in an integrated society. Population groups which will either actively support or oppose a national movement have grown rapidly since 1900, causing the black community to consciously define itself. Language, educational, economic and cultural factors that occur within the black community tend to be weakly differentiated, if at all, from those in the general society. The only strong factor differentiating the black community was that of symbols. It was concluded that Deutsch's framework is adequate for developing some insight into the future of black nationalism, but in order to make prediction possible better criteria for determining the assimilated population were needed. It was found that the integrationist trend in the black community seems to be strong, but that continued frustration in reaching goals might give impetus to a strong black nationalist movement.
Interaction Patterns in the Neighborhood Tavern
(1971) Bissonette, Raymond Peter; Lejins, Peter P.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
This study was undertaken in order to develop a systematic description and analysis of the social reality of the public drinking establishment with special reference to the neighborhood workingman's tavern. The perspective adopted was a focus on the non-pathological aspects of behavior associated with the consumption of beverage alcohol. Underlying this point of departure was the recognition that most research on drinking behavior is related to alcoholism but most drinking is not. The study had two purposes: first to attempt a descriptive analysis of social interaction in the tavern setting by translating observed behavior into relatively standard sociological concepts of norm, role, ecology, and communication. Beyond the descriptive purpose of this approach was the expectation that the organization of observations into such a conceptual scheme would enhance the scientific utility of the effort by providing for assimilability and comparability of the data with other research and theory. The second purpose was to test a new theoretical focus for its adequacy as an explanatory model. The focus is on behavior in public and semi-public places - an area falling some where between group studies on the one hand and studies of collective behavior on the other. The major component of this theoretical framework is the mechanism of involvement allocation which refers to the ways in which actors regulate the duration and intensity of their involvement in interpersonal interaction. As was anticipated much of what is unique to sociability in the tavern setting was explainable in terms of involvement allocation. Principally responsible for this is the fact that a tavern, regardless of its official definition, has the dual functions of dispensary and social event. Although the tavern is a prototypic case for involvement allocation it was concluded that this explanatory model might have wide application in interpersonal and intergroup behavior. The data were collected over a three year period by means of participant observation in a wide variety of settings. The core data represent observations taken over a two year period in four selected neighborhood taverns. The synchronic observation of these case taverns were then supplemented by spot observations taken in over one hundred other establishments. The third source of data was the published findings of similar and related studies. The contrast and comparison provided by these additional data aid considerably in verifying the raw data and their interpretation - an inherent problem in this kind of approach. The findings demonstrate that the social reality of the tavern setting consists in patterned behavior amenable to systematic description and analysis. Drinking is a never-present variable but rarely an exclusive preoccupation. A more fruitful approach in understanding the role of drinking in such a setting is to focus on its social rather than physiological consequences. As a part of the definition of the tavern, drinking is always an accepted major involvement and as such affords the individual considerable flexibility in his involvement in the social activities occurring simultaneously. Throughout the study much of what is characteristic of tavern behavior is explained in terms of the involvement allocation options offered by the tavern's dual function as dispensary and social event.
Negotiation Behavior by Elected and Appointed Representatives Serving as Group Leaders or Spokesmen under Different Cooperative Group Expectations
(1972) Boyd, Norman Kent; Anderson, Nancy S.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
A common assumption is that the group representative is under pressure to remain loyal to his constituency while bargaining for its interests. The present investigation tested 3 factors thought to determine the extent of the representative's group loyalty for their effects upon his negotiation behavior. Two of these factors were associated with a component of representation called the representative's group leadership status. Predictions regarding these factors were based upon the notion that a group may not be inclined to sanction the behavior of all individuals who might serve as representative to the same degree. It was suggested that group members variously allow their representative to compromise the group's established position and yet consider him a loyal member of the group as a positive function of the status they accord him as a leader. It follows that the higher the representative perceives his leadership status the more willing he should be to yield from the group's position without fear of censure. The first factor thought to affect the representative’s group loyalty by influencing his perceived leadership status was his source of authority in becoming group representative. It was predicted that the process of election would elicit greater perceived status and thus greater yielding behavior than would the procedure of appointment. The second factor was whether the representative served as group leader or spokesman. The group leader was viewed as an individual who performs all group leadership functions, including that of negotiating for the group, while the spokesman was described as a person who acts only as the group's representative, It was predicted that group leaders serving as representatives would yield more than spokesmen due to their perceptions of relatively high leadership status. The third factor tested was the cooperative expectations of group members. Group expectations for the representative to cooperate with opposing negotiators were assumed inversely related to the group's announced positional commitment. Accordingly, it was predicted that evidence of weak, as opposed to strong, group commitment would result in more compromising behavior by decreasing the pressure upon the representative to demonstrate his loyalty to the group. The experimental simulation initially required each of 80 Ss to participate with 4 confederates in a prenegotiation discussion of a human relations issue. Following the establishment of a group position, half of the Ss were selected to be group leaders for the purpose of guiding the group's formulation of supporting arguments. A confederate was chosen as group leader in the other groups. After the argument formulation equal numbers of Ss were elected and appointed as representatives and informed of either high or low group commitment. Willingness to compromise the group position was measured following negotiations with a confederate representative. The results supported the prediction that elected representatives would yield more than those who had been appointed. The effect of the representative's source of authority was attributed to variable perceptions of leadership status. Conclusive findings regarding the effects of the other two factors were not obtained. The results were discussed as demonstrating the importance of isolating the representational components responsible for differential loyalty behavior by negotiating representatives.