Book Description

Social Structure and Behavior: Essays in Honor of William Hamilton Sewell is a collection of 16 essays dealing with the social psychological aspects of schooling and achievement, social stratification and mobility, measurements and methods, and social structures and wellbeing. The collection discusses the political dimension of stratification, the results of observation of first-graders in their reading group assignments against their social background, and stereotyping practices held by dominant groups of society. Anther papers use a causal model to analyze occupational status and earnings of Cuban exiles in the U.S.; other authors discuss the effects of institutionalization of formal employment in Brazil, and propose a revision of the Duncan Scale by a more comprehensive set of occupational prestige scale. The book also analyzes measurements of ranked preferences using a single latent factor behind the ranked items. One authors points that some sociological terms can be misleading in propounding a sound theory when these terms themselves confound what they are supposed to correlate. The text also addresses the fundamental problems concerning welfare that include order, collective action, and consensus. This collection of essays can interest social workers, sociologists, psychologists, and researchers involved in community development.