Sociological Perspectives

This article analyzes the ways in which political power of business has been studied in the city. Political power of business has been related to various actor characteristics: Participation, organizational structure, and control over local economic activities. The political power of business is inferred from the relationship between these characteristics and interlocal variation in public policies. The limits of each approach are reviewed.

This article argues that in the contemporary world system higher levels of statist ideology and organization lead to the political incorporation of women. Cross-national data are analyzed to examine the influence of four measures of statist structure on two dependent variables: The level of constitutional equality between the sexes and the degree to which marital status impedes female participation in the labor force (the index of housewifery). In these analyses, all indicators of statism positively influence the constitutional status of women, and all but one statism measure reduce the negative influence of marital status. Economic development measures fail to show any appreciable effect in these analyses. The overall pattern of findings is consistent with the political incorporation of women thesis.

This is an exploratory analysis of sex discrimination suits filed under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The focus is on the social factors which influence (1) the decision to sue and (2) decisions reached in court. Through a content analysis of court cases, it is shown that social factors do influence court decisions. Relevant factors include the occupation involved, the presence of an interest group, the year in which the case is heard, and the type of plaintiff involved in the suit.

This work examines the assimilation of minorities in large hierarchical organizations, focusing on the special case of women faculty in higher education institutions. The changing role of faculty women by academic rank in academic administration was determined for a state university and college system for an 11-year period. Women's participation in faculty governance was also assessed during one academic year. Women were found most frequently at the lowest faculty rank and least often at the highest rank, though their proportions increased at each rank from the earliest time to the most recent. The number of women administrators increased in the 11-year period, mostly in the lowest-level positions as chairs of traditionally female disciplines and the newer interdisciplinary departments. Women's opportunities for advancement in the faculty and as administrators appear to be optimized at the older, larger campuses and at those located in large metropolitan cities.

Using data collected on families in a midwestern city, an analysis was made of the effect of mother's occupation on children's attainments. It was found that in the dual employment family mother's occupation had a significant effect on both son's and daughter's educational attainment. Cross-sex effects from mother to son appeared to be slightly greater than the like-sex effects from mother to daughter. A comparison of single and dual employment families revealed some important differences in how family status variables affect children in the two situations.

The purpose of this article is to identify theoretical themes and trends in the range of sociological writings about Chicanos. The primary concern is to uncover and to assess the adequacy of explanations in this rapidly expanding body of knowledge. Rather than reviewing works in specific topic areas, central developments are outlined. An important conclusion of this examination is that both theoretical distortions and theoretical advances in the sociology of Chicanos are reflective of larger trends in the discipline.