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The article profiles the career and thought of Marxist development scholar and South African anti-apartheid activist Ruth First. Focus is given to her use of class analysis to discuss Southern African social and economic problems, particularly the formation of social and political movements, along with African migrant mine labor and the militarization of post-colonial African politics. The way in which the relationship between race, class, and gender informed her writing of personal histories of African revolutionaries is also outlined.

We compare and contrast two different kinds of Marxism: traditional (orthodox) and overdeterminist. The argument pinpoints key theoretical and political consequences of each kind of Marxism for the history of the Left and for anticapitalist struggle today. Our preference, overdeterminist Marxism, places the elimination of class exploitation (conceived in surplus labor terms) back on the Left's agenda for social change where Marx had placed it. We explain why this overdeterminist focus on reorganizing the production and distribution of the surplus (eliminating exploitation) is different from traditional Marxism's focus rather on eliminating private ownership of the means of production and/or empowering workers. The conclusion suggests why and how overdeterminist Marxism can help to restructure society so as to achieve a new kind of class democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recently, a range of educational theorists have explored and extended upon popular currents in political theory through articulating 'open' and 'unknowing' pedagogies. Such contributions represent a radical turn away from the presumed 'universals' found in proclamations of justice and emancipation and, ultimately, the centering of class analysis. At the same time, inspired by and building upon Bourdieuian theory, another cluster of educational research has developed a nuanced understanding of the social, cultural, and educational mechanisms involved in class reproduction. In this essay, Jessica Gerrard offers a critical - though sympathetic - response to these dual trends. Bringing together theories of reproduction in conversation with theories of pedagogical possibility, Gerrard argues for a renewed understanding of working-class relations to education that incorporates an understanding of working-class action and struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between mathematical ability and mathematical creativity, and to examine the structure of this relationship. Furthermore, in order to validate the relationship between the two constructs, we will trace groups of students that differ across mathematical ability and investigate the relationships amongst these students' performance on a mathematical ability test and the components of mathematical creativity. Data were collected by administering two tests, a mathematical ability and a mathematical creativity test, to 359 elementary school students. Mathematical ability was considered as a multidimensional construct, including quantitative ability (number sense and pre-algebraic reasoning), causal ability (examination of cause-effect relations), spatial ability (paper folding, perspective and spatial rotation abilities), qualitative ability (processing of similarity and difference relations) and inductive/deductive ability. Mathematical creativity was defined as a domain-specific characteristic, enabling individuals to be characterized by fluency, flexibility and originality in the domain of mathematics. The data analysis revealed that there is a positive correlation between mathematical creativity and mathematical ability. Moreover, confirmatory factor analysis suggested that mathematical creativity is a subcomponent of mathematical ability. Further, latent class analysis showed that three different categories of students can be identified varying in mathematical ability. These groups of students varying in mathematical ability also reflected three categories of students varying in mathematical creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though contemporary discussions of class have moved forward towards recognizing a multidimensional concept of class, empirical analyses tend to focus on cultural practices in a rather narrow sense, that is, as practices of cultural consumption or practices of education. As a result, discussions within political sociology have not yet utilized the merits of a multidimensional conception of class. In light of this, the article suggests a comprehensive Bourdieusian framework for class analysis, integrating culture as both a structural phenomenon co-constitutive of class and as symbolic practice. Further, the article explores this theoretical framework in a multiple correspondence analysis of a Danish survey, demonstrating how class and political practices are indeed homologous. However, the analysis also points at several elements of field autonomy, and the concluding discussion therefore suggests the need for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article evaluates the potential found within two approaches that recognize the complexity of social hierarchy in different ways. First, it looks at the revival of class analysis within culturally inflected approaches to class. These have incorporated a number of societal relations, broadly referred to as the symbolic, the social and the cultural, into the analysis. Second, the article assesses attempts to theorize the intersections of gender, ethnicity and class through the intersectionality framework. It considers the potential for developing more integrated analytical frameworks for understanding social hierarchy through cross-referencing these debates. It proposes an intersectional framing which centres on social location and translocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to identify the internal divisions within the ‘upper class’ of Norway, defined as comprising different types of property owners, top executives and business managers. Bourdieu’s concepts of social space and forms of capital are applied to construct a social space of the Norwegian economic upper class by subjecting 12 indicators of capital to Multiple Correspondence Analysis. Central issues in the sociology of elites and upper classes are addressed, including the role of educational credentials in upper class reproduction, and the salience of divisions by social origin. The article reveals a maintained division between owners and employees (managers, executives, business professionals) in an age of ‘financialisation’. Furthermore, the divisions established are related to the segmentation of the upper class by occupation and industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine parenting types in a low-income sample from a person-oriented approach. Data were used from a public use data set from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP) along with new extant ratings of parenting behavior from the EHSREP archive of videotaped parent–child observations. Parenting behavior indicators were examined using latent class analysis as a grouping strategy across three time points to characterize this sample of 2631 Early Head Start mothers. Three latent classes of mothers were identified at 14, 24, and 36 months: developmentally supportive (the largest group in this sample), unsupportive, and negative. Predictors of parenting types were also examined and parenting types were linked to child outcomes. The results of these analyses show common characteristics of these distinct types of parents likely to be in Early Head Start programs and may help programs identify which families would most benefit from services to help them increase behaviors to promote their young children''s early development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The subject of this article is the EGP and ESeC class schemes and their validity for Czech society. The basic question is to what extent these two schemes identify differences in occupational conditions in Czech society. In the first part of the article, the author presents EGP and ESeC schemes, focuses on their theoretical grounds, and looks at the criteria that define social classes within these frameworks. In the second part of the article, the author tests whether these two class schemes really measure what they are supposed to - the criterion validity of EGP and ESeC is tested. After that, the author examines how much the two class schemes predict other social variables on the basis of theoretical expectations - the construct validity of EGP and ESeC is tested. Finally the author compares these two class schemes and discusses which of them is a more appropriate explanatory instrument of occupational inequalities, and the consequent differences in life outcomes in current Czech society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pierre Bourdieu's recasting of the question of class exemplifies the major features of his sociology and the way he extends, melds and mends classical views into a distinctive framework. Bourdieu's approach is relational, agonistic, and synthetic; it spotlights the symbolic dimension of group formation as practical achievement while fusing theory and research; and it introduces multiple correspondance analysis as a statistical technique suited to grasping constellations of multiple capitals. Bourdieu reformulates the problem of domination by questioning the ontological status of collectives and by forging tools for elucidating the politics of group-making: the sociosymbolic alchemy where- by a mental construct is turned into a historical reality through the inculcation of schemata of perception and their deployment to draw, enforce, or contest social boundaries. The article traces the impetus behind the key conceptual shifts Bourdieu effects, from class structure to social space, from class consciousness to habitus, from ideology to symbolic violence, and from ruling class to field of power. It also points to recent studies that have tried, tested, and refined the core tenets of his model as well as offers a bibliography of Bourdieu's publications on class documenting a twofold empirical and analytic shift towards a sociology of the realization of categories that spotlights the constitutive power of symbolic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces this issue's special section on Pierre Bourdieu's contribution to class analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of micro, small and medium size enterprises in the growth of per capita gross domestic product at European Union level between 2005 and 2010. Using a panel of data from 25 Member States the results show a positive connection between the prevalence of SME in terms of created value added and GDP per capita growth. When investigating the aforementioned relationship at enterprise size class level the results differ considerably. While microenterprises prevalence in terms of created value added does not appear to cause more growth in per capita income at EU level, small and medium sized enterprises are some of the main drivers of the annual per capita GDP growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to add to a growing body of literature that critiques the whiteness of the organic farming movement and analyse potential ramifications of this if farmers are to be understood as educators. Given that farmers do not necessarily self-identify as educators, it is important to understand that in raising this critique, this paper is as much a challenge the author is extending to herself and other educators interested in food sovereignty as it is to members of the organic farming movement. This paper draws from the author's personal experiences and interest in the small-scale organic farming movement. It provides a brief overview of this movement, which is followed by a discussion of anti-racist food scholarship that critically assesses the inequities and inconsistencies that have developed as a result of hegemonic whiteness within the movement. It then demonstrates how a movement of Indigenous food sovereignty is emerging parallel to the organic farming movement and how food sovereignty is directly related to empowerment through the reclamation of cultural, spiritual, and linguistic practices. Finally, it discusses the potential benefits of adult educators interested in the organic farming movement linking their efforts to a broader framework of food sovereignty, especially through learning to become better allies with Indigenous populations in different parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this short essay, we try to assess the utility of class analyses for understanding the contemporary Estonian society. Erik Wright (2009) identifies three strands of class analysis: a stratification approach, a Weberian approach and a Marxist approach. We address the following questions: Which kind of class analysis is most present in Estonia today? Which is most needed? The main conclusion is that due to this marginalisation of class discourse, as well as the power of national/ethnic discourse and transitional culture, those most economically vulnerable were deprived of the cultural and discursive resources to resist the most the extreme market-oriented policies. The conditions for structuration of class relations were created, while the class and inequality discourse was marginalised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until now, there is no consensus about variations in governance roles. This consensus is necessary to enable researchers to examine how network are governed well. In this article, the governance roles are considered to be clusters of consistent choices on a top-down versus bottom-up continuum, regarding nine governance activities. Our results reveal that three governance roles can be discerned: top-down, intermediate and bottom-up governance roles. Furthermore, these roles are applied by municipalities with specific (network) characteristics. Our results open the black box of network governance and might facilitate municipalities to make choices regarding their role in the new network era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an exploration of the distinction between typological and factorial latent variables in the domain of personality theory. Traditionally, many personality variables have been considered to be factorial in nature, even though there are examples of typological constructs dating back to Hippocrates. Recently, some reconceptualizations of typological constructs have emerged due, in part, to the availability of more rigorous methodological tools for identification of types (or nominal latent traits). These tools include multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) and latent class analysis (LCA). Two studies, involving application of these methods, are discussed in this article. The first study uses data collected using a questionnaire based on the five-factor model (FFM) of personality. The second study is based on data collected to investigate the relationships between technology use and literacy skills. The findings of both studies indicate that, while a clear preference for a factorial or a typological model may exist in the literature, a choice between the two merely based on statistical criteria may not be as clear-cut. Moreover, typological and factorial models of individual difference may coexist in certain domains of individual differences research. The article closes with a series of recommendations for future research to better understand the nature of psychological variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I develop a critique of both standard neoclassical and standard Marxian conceptualizations of human capital that illustrates an important hypothesis of feminist political economy: collective conflicts based on class, gender, and age, as well as other dimensions of collective identity, affect the distribution of the costs of developing human capital.JEL codes: B50; E11; E24 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is argued in this article that social psychology would make the greatest contribution to research on class identity if it concentrated on the area closest to psychology-analysis of class consciousness. In order to show that the study of the psyche and mentality of the middle class is one of the least researched aspects of the American middle class, a brief overview of the different approaches to the study of the middle class in selected disciplines will be offered. It will be demonstrated that even if the identity of the U.S. middle class cannot be fully understood without its history and the social context in which it operates, it is the study of its (un)consciousness that social psychology should be focusing its research efforts on. The alternative would make social psychology indistinguishable from social history or sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meaning of class, like many other things, is conferred by historically specific chains of signification or discourses that constitute the identity and significance of class as a social reality. Therefore, much of the conceptual purchase and explanatory power of class will be lost when the concept is taken out of the theories in which it is embedded. This is exactly the case with the use of class in the People's Republic of China in the last two or three decades, when the Marxist approach to class has been rejected and ‘forgotten’ by the social analysts and the Chinese Communist Party—even though the latter continues to pay lip service to Marxism—in favour of alternative concepts, methodologies and theories that sidestep class relations. The point of departure here is not so much sociological as political-ideological. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper systematically reviews the literature of class analysis in contemporary sociology and reveals the core of the class analytical perspective and pluralistic analysis paradigms. Firstly, the core of the class analytical perspective is the structural position defined by social relations and it provides systemic structural interpretation of social inequality and the related social phenomena. The essential difference between the class and non-class perspectives can be summarized as "relational view" vs. "gradational view," or "categorical models of class" vs. " gradational models of stratification." Secondly, class analysis contains pluralistic paradigms including 1) macro-level research objects (accounting for large-scale social changes and social transformations) vs. micro-level research objects (accounting for the effects of class on individual attitudes, behaviors and life opportunities)) 2) "structure-consciousness-action" in analytical thinking (class as "collective actor") vs. "structure-situation-choice"(class as "omnibus signal of life conditions"); and 3) differences in the theoretical origin, research object and analytical thinking leading to three different logics of explanation as follows, "the logic of exploitation and interest formation," "the logic of situation or logic of rational action" and "the logic of structuration." Class analysis would be an important conceptual tool to analyze China in transformation. Its pluralistic paradigms and logics of explanation can not only reveal the extent and form of class conflicts in modern China, but also explain the effect of class position on life conditions and social opportunity distribution, and more importantly, it can provide theoretical knowledge and information about the mechanisms for the causal relationship between the class structure and social outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is about public toilets for women. Drawing on data provided by the textual material posted in women's toilets in Victoria, Australia, it is argued that in western nations, toilets represent more than instrumental facilities for the disposal of waste products. Because they also serve as repositories of social anxieties about bodies, gender, cultural and religious differences and health/death, public toilets are sites used to order the disorder of women's bodies and activities. Cultural intolerances have problematised differences in ablution practices and ‘correct’ toilet behaviours are frequently prescribed. As unique examples in the west of cultural and gendered practice, women's toilets offer rich material on the discipline and meaning of gendered space in a range of different environmental settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article proposes a permutation procedure for evaluating the performance of different classification methods. In particular, we focus on two of the most widespread and used classification methodologies: latent class analysis and k-means clustering. The classification performance is assessed by means of a permutation procedure which allows for a direct comparison of the methods, the development of a statistical test, and points out better potential solutions. Our proposal provides an innovative framework for the validation of the data partitioning and offers a guide in the choice of which classification procedure should be used [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a new and freely available tool for performing analyses according to the Rasch model (RM) and the latent class analysis (LCA). The software allows for the estimation of the model parameters and offers several measures of model fit. A graphical user interface (GUI) provides access to numerous options regarding data, models, and output. For educational purposes, an optional annotate feature allows to augment the output with brief explanations and citations regarding the procedures. Based on published data, the features of GANZ RASCH are briefly illustrated in two worked examples. The program intends to combine ease of use while allowing for performing a full-fledged analysis, thus targeting a wide range of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large percentage of the students who drop out of K–12 schools in the United States do so at the end of high school, at some point after grade 10. Yet little is known about the differences between types of students who drop out near the end of high school. The purpose of this study is to examine a typology of high school dropouts from a large nationally representative dataset (ELS:2002) using latent class analysis (LCA). We found three significantly different types of dropouts; Quiet, Jaded, and Involved. Based on this typology of three subgroups, we discuss implications for future dropout intervention research, policy, and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the latest trajectory of class analysis in Australia within the context of criticism against the Marxist approach to class and changes within the capitalist economy and society some claim make Marxist class analysis redundant. It contends that these criticisms significantly misinterpret the Marxist conception of class and miss recent developments with Marxist class analysis. It argues that the evidence presented indicates a broader trend within Marxist scholarship.

The crucial difference between Robinson’s view of the world today and mine has to do with what has been happening in the last 30–50 years. Robinson sees ‘globalization’ as a new stage in capitalism, in which financial institutions are the main mechanisms of capitalist accumulation. I see the same period as one in which capitalist structures have moved so far from equilibrium that they cannot survive. The world-system has entered into a structural crisis and a bifurcation that, in the next 20–40 years, will result in a new world-system (or systems), which may be worse than the current system or much better. In analysing my views, he asserts they are state-centric unlike his. This is incredible, given that the very name of the perspective, world-systems analysis, is used because the basic premise is that social reality occurs within a world-system and not within the states. Robinson’s view is based on a misreading of our concepts of core and periphery. They do not refer to states, but to a relation, in which the crucial difference is the degree of monopolization of the productive process. These processes are located in all states. It is true that the concentration of core-like and peripheral processes is different in different states, which results in a different national politics. But this is a political, not an economic, difference. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research note describes the use of latent class analysis to examine how three dimensions of religiosity-the importance of religion (religious salience), attendance at religious services, and frequency of prayer-cluster together to form unique profiles. Building upon recent research identifying different profiles of religiosity at the level of the individual, we used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to identify dyadic profiles of religious concordance or discordance between 14,202 adolescents and their mothers. We identified five profiles: one concordant (27% of sample), two discordant (25% of sample), and two of mixed concordance/discordance (49%). The profiles distinguish between various levels of adolescent/mother relations, suggesting that they may represent distinct family dynamics. They also distinguish between several variables (race, adolescent age, geographical region) in predictable ways, providing additional demonstration of the categories' meaningfulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which includes action related to the issue of abortion. She suggests an additional inquiry focusing on implications of abortion and its relation to social, political and cultural conflicts both before and after Roe. She reflects race and class as important aspects of the development of the U.S. narrative on abortion.

The essay is divided into an “Introduction to the Concept of Class,” “Data and Categorizing Classes in Yugoslavia 1945–75” which treats of the working or lower classes, an approach to the ruling class, the “middle classes,” and women, and ends with “A Hypothesis: The Involution of the Ruling Class.” In the wake of Marx it concludes that a ruling class existed but was for ca. 20 years a classin statu nascendi. It concludes with “An Excursus on Classophobia,” analyzing writings by Kardelj, and a hypothesis on “Two Yugoslav Singularities.” The first or splendid plebeian singularity was the double liberatory course of the 1941–45 partizan insurrection and of the postwar attempt at a socialist democracy. The second or miserable singularity was the stasis and then the suicide of the ruling partitocracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: To identify distinct depressive symptom trajectories in the TORDIA study and determine their correlates. Methods: Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) using the Children''s Depression Rating Scale—Revised (CDRS-R) through 72weeks from intake. Results: 3 classes were identified: (1) little change in symptomatic status (“NO”), comprising 24.9% of participants, with a 72-week remission rate of 25.3%; (2) slow, steady improvement (“SLOW”), comprising 47.9% of participants, with a remission rate of 60.0%, and (3) rapid symptom response (“GO”), comprising 27.2% of participants, with a remission rate of 85.7%. Higher baseline CDRS-R (p<0.001) and poorer functioning (p=0.03) were the strongest discriminators between NO and GO. Higher baseline CDRS (p<0.001) and scores on the Mania Rating Scale (MRS) (p=0.01) were the strongest discriminators between SLOW and GO. Other variables differentiating GO from both NO and from SLOW, were better baseline functioning, lower hopelessness, and lower family conflict. Both NO and SLOW showed increases on the MRS over time compared to GO (ps≤0.04), and increasing MRS was strongly associated with lack of remission by 72weeks (p=0.02). Limitations: High rate of open treatment by the end of the follow-up period creates difficulty in drawing clear inferences about the long-term impact of initial randomization. Conclusion: Along with depressive severity, sub-syndromal manic symptoms, at baseline, and over time emerged as important predictors and correlates of poor outcome in this sample. Further research is needed on the treatment of severe depression, and on the assessment and management of sub-syndromal manic symptoms in treatment resistant depression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Noting that Marxist and elite paradigms birthed competing theories on social and political change and that the differential development of these theories depends less on evidence than on ideological leanings, the epilogue to a collection of essays on postsocialist elites compares these paradigms in terms of their polarity in the 20th century. Although fading by the end of the 19th century, Marxism saw renewed vitality as it was embraced as a theoretical and ideological tool of radical and reformist leaders of the European Left. Elite theory's decline is attributed less to a lack of its plausibility than to a lack of ties to organized political forces. However, Marxism's emergence as a major global intellectual and political movement had a concomitant destructive impact on its explanatory power. By the end of the 20th century, Marxist theory comprised many dissipating streams. The decline of elite theory is delineated, noting that its tenets remained intact despite its unpopularity among activists and intellectuals. The negative effect of fascism -- i.e., the dubious notion that elite theory leads to fascism -- is noted, along with the idea that a combination of socioeconomic and sociocultural factors further eclipsed elite theory's development and popularity. Latter-20th-century elite theory lacked urgency in discussions on Western democracies and non-Western developing countries. However, three trends led to the reinvigoration of elite theory: economic advances of Japan and the Asian tigers, state socialism in Eastern Europe, and the elite-driven Soviet collapse. Thus, political developments driving the revival of elite theory include the centrality of elite choices and actions guiding these changes; and the theoretical developments include the exhaustion of Marxist theory's credibility and the reformulation of elite-centered democratic theory. Five suppositions underlying the analyses of contributions are delineated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While clinical exams using SPs are used extensively across the medical schools for summative purposes and high-stakes decisions, the method of identifying students for remediation varies widely and there is a lack of consensus on the best methodological approach. The purpose of this study is to provide an alternative approach to identification of students for remediation using the latent class analysis (LCA) technique. 147 third year medical students participating in the Clinical Performance Examination (CPX) are included in the study. We used LCA to identify students who potentially need remediation based on their performance on CPX. Three distinct clusters of students with different performance profiles were identified. The identification of two rather than one low performing group has significant implications for identifying cut-points as well as for remediation programs. The two low performing groups in our study had low scores on contrasting sets of cases. LCA presents an alternative approach to identification of borderline or low performing groups. This method provides advantages over traditional statistical techniques such as cluster analysis used for grouping students. Based on the flexibility of the model specification, within the LCA framework, we were able to identify more than one group that may need remediation or instruction support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profession of social work advocates for civil rights for gay men, lesbians, and bisexual persons. However, a number of social work students and practitioners harbor antigay bias that in prior variable-centered research has been determined to be related to race, relationship status, and age. The purpose of this research was to use latent class analysis (LCA), a person-centered statistical technique, to cluster 394 university student survey responses to the Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gays short-form instrument. The analyses indicated three groups that can be profiled as unbiased, moderately biased, and highly biased. Analysis of variance and multinomial regression verified LCA findings that are consistent with prior research. The importance of selecting appropriate educational approaches to address antigay bias among social work students and practicing social workers is discussed, and recommendations for continued research, including a national random survey of social work students and licensed social workers, are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current deterioration of America's middle class will test the ability of the social work profession to take the concept of class seriously and sharpen our understanding of the maldistribution of wealth as a form of oppression. The effort requires identifying and discrediting prevailing ideologies in both the popular culture and our profession. The middle-class crisis provides the opportunity to devise innovative coalitions of working-class and middle-class Americans. Recent efforts may point the way for social workers to help catalyze such movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the field of educational effectiveness research, the influence of a class’ student body on students’ individual achievement scores has been a popular research interest for many years. Yet, few studies have focussed on the effects of class composition on students’ non-achievement outcomes, and up to now, hardly any attempts have been made to summarize the findings of previous studies on this topic by conducting a literature review. The current study tries to fill in this gap and focuses on the effects of class composition in secondary education in terms of ability and gender on students’ school well-being and academic self-concept. The results of this literature review indicate that ability grouping is beneficial for strong students’ school well-being, but rather detrimental for the school well-being of weak students. The reverse holds for students’ academic self-concept. Furthermore, our results show that single-sex classes are advantageous for girls’ school well-being and academic self-concept. As for boys, the results are inconclusive. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose - The purpose of this chapter is to explore the differing ways in which emancipation is conceived by (Burawoy, 2004) four types of sociology: professional, public, critical and policy. The chapter argues that taken in isolation these sociologies generate issues in research that can only be resolved by reference to the activities of other branches of the sociological enterprise. Approach - The chapter starts with a conflict of values in public sociological research, where the researcher is confronted with respondents whose 'voice' is characterised as racist. Findings - The chapter argues that whilst public sociology attempts to provide voice to marginalised social groups it often makes arbitrary judgments over the palatability of certain voices, preferring voices sympathetic to the sociological enterprise over populist voices. The nuance here is illustrated as a tension between public and critical sociology that is often overlooked in the literature. Research implications - The chapter argues that to successfully make sociological judgments to marshal between divergent voices, public sociology needs to re-discover its relationship with professional sociology, in terms of its engagement with political normativity and uses of evidence. Ultimately, for the sociological enterprise to be emancipatory it has to have a functioning interdependence between its four main activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on analyses of survey data of the cultural practices of Norwegian students in 1998 and 2008, this article addresses the changing relations between class, education and cultural tastes of students in Norway – particularly focusing on what Bourdieu termed “cultural capital”. Proceeding from international and Norwegian debates regarding the nature and social importance of cultural capital, the article first discusses the changing relation between social class and educational careers. On this basis, changes with regard to the use of music and literature, both in forms of genres and individual artists/authors, are analysed. While general relations between preferences for musical and literary genres and social background appear to be quite stable, with traditional highbrow genres in both years being closely related to students with high levels of cultural capital, students’ interest in traditional highbrow genres have weakened considerably in the period under study. This suggests that traditional forms of highbrow culture are becoming increasingly more irrelevant for most students cultural lives, but also more socially distinctive, and they still appear to command a large degree of recognition. However, the article concludes, the general decline in interest towards such forms of culture suggests an increasingly precarious position for traditional highbrow culture. 1 [1] Project title and website: Democracy and the Digitisation of Audiovisual Culture (DIGICULT). http://digicult.uib.no/. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cocaine is the most widely used club drug. Yet, little is known about how patterns of cocaine use vary over time among young adults of diverse gender and sexual identities. This study used latent class growth analysis to identify trajectories of cocaine use over a year and explored individual and substance use factors associated with these trajectories. A sample of 400 young adults (mean age=23.9years) with recent club drug use were recruited from New York City bars and nightclubs using time-space sampling. Participants completed quantitative measures at baseline, 4-, 8- and 12-months follow-up. A 4-class model fit the data best. Patterns were: Consistent use (48%), Inconsistent use (14%), Decreasing Likelihood of use (28%), and Consistent non-use (11%). Those most likely to be in the Consistent use class had the highest frequency of baseline club drug dependence (χ 2 (3, 397)=15.1, p <.01), cocaine dependence (χ 2 (3, 397)=18.9, p <.01), recent alcohol use (χ 2 (3, 397)=12.48, p <.01), and drug sensation-seeking (χ 2 (3, 397)=9.03, p <.01). Those most likely to be in the Consistent Non-use class had the highest frequency of baseline marijuana use (χ 2 (3, 397)=2.71, p <.05). Contrary to hypotheses, there were no differences in most-likely trajectory class by gender/sexual-orientation, age, ethnicity, education, employment status, or income. Findings highlight the diversity of cocaine use patterns over time among young adults, and the personal and substance use characteristics that are associated with each. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Abstract: Patterns and predictors of center-based early care and education (ECE) of children in foster care were examined. Participants included 192 pre-Kindergarten age children in foster care. Foster parents reported demographics, ECE and other service use. Foster care history data was abstracted from case files. High rates of attendance in ECE prior to Kindergarten, including Head Start, other center-based ECE, or both were found. Children who attended Head Start were younger when first placed in foster care. Children who attended other center-based ECE services were more likely to live with kinship foster parents and foster families with higher incomes. Latent class analysis of ECE quantity, quality, type, and duration revealed three patterns: part-time Head Start, part-time other ECE, and full-time mixed ECE. Child and foster family characteristics predicted these patterns, illustrating distinct groups with potential implications for the development of children in foster care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two landowner classification methods based on owner objectives have been used to describe the heterogeneous group of farmland owners. As accurate information on landowner preferences is essential in policy planning and evaluation of the effects of various policy instruments, there is a need to develop feasible methods for classifying landowners. In this study we applied objective-based classification to Finnish farmland owners. The two classification methods compared in terms of their criterion validity were traditional cluster analysis and latent class analysis. Comparison of the convergent, concurrent, discriminant, and predictive components of criterion validity revealed that latent class analysis, particularly if sociodemographic covariates were included, was a slightly better classification method. Classification of farmland owners according to their ownership objectives was shown to be a relevant predictor of landowner behavior, and thus to provide valuable information for agricultural policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study attempts to clarify conceptual and operational inconsistencies in the literature around “Ghiselli''s hobo syndrome.” I propose that defining characteristics of hobo syndrome should include both the exhibition of frequent job movement behavior and positive attitudes about such behavior. This definition effectively differentiates the construct from other similar phenomena associated with frequent job movement (e.g., job/career mobility, protean careers). Using latent class cluster analysis of a diverse sample of 944 U.S. workers, it was empirically validated that a small number of individuals resembling the proposed characteristics of hobos did emerge as a distinct group (N=42), providing person-centered evidence for the construct validity of hobo syndrome. The dispositional roots of hobo syndrome and work-related outcomes were also explored. It was found that individuals with high levels of openness to experience were likely to exhibit hobo syndrome, whereas impulsivity was not related to such tendency. Also, workers who were more likely to be categorized as hobos tended to report less positive views about their current jobs. Based on these findings, implications for research and practice are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary Lately, different voices in the global public health community have drawn attention to the interaction between the State and civil society in the context of reducing health inequities. A rights-based approach empowers people not only to claim their rights but also to demand accountability from the State. Lessons from history show that economic growth does not automatically have positive implications for population health. It may even be disruptive in the absence of strong stewardship and regulation by national and local public health authorities. The field research in which we have been involved over the past 20 years in the Philippines, Palestine, Cuba, and Europe confirms that organized communities and people's organizations can effectively pressure the state into action towards realizing the right to health. Class analysis, influencing power relations, and giving the State a central role have been identified as three key strategies of relevant social movements and NGOs. More interaction between academia and civil society organizations could contribute to enhance and safeguard the societal relevance of public health researches. Our own experience made us discover that social movements and public health researchers have a lot to learn from one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The retreat from social class within the sociology of education has been accompanied by the intensification of socio-economic and cultural inequalities. This paper seeks to draw upon cultural analyses of social class by addressing a classificatory shift of white English working-class males, who have moved from an ascribed primary socio-economic status to an embodied aesthetic performance. We examine the reconfiguration of social class within state schools and historical and contemporary shifting images of white working-class males within the education literature. We suggest the need to engage with a multi-dimensional explanatory frame in order to understand how working-class young men now inhabit a new cultural condition in the post-colonial urban space of inner-city schools. This shift is best captured by exploring the simultaneous articulations of multiple categories of difference – including class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and generation – in relation to contemporary representations of social class. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies of incarcerates with serious mental illnesses have found elevated rates of chronic medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes, and of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis compared with general population rates. This study explored the pattern of chronic medical conditions in a sample of adult detainees in psychiatric treatment in a large urban jail to develop a clinical profile encompassing the full range of medical conditions. A total of 431 male and female detainees were sampled with certainty from admissions to a residential psychiatric treatment program (overall recruitment rate = 67%). Interviews used the World Mental Health version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview to assess psychiatric and substance use disorders per DSM-IV criteria and chronic medical conditions. Latent class analysis was conducted using 17 medical conditions as class indicators, yielding a 3-class model composed of: a latent class with a high to intermediate probability of multiple medical conditions (HMC; 12.5% of the sample); an intermediate class with a lower probability of having a smaller number of medical conditions (MMC; 43.2%); and a class with a low probability of any medical condition (44.3%). Those in the HMC class were more likely to report respiratory problems, severe headaches, musculoskeletal pain, hypertension, and arthritis, have greater functional impairment, and have a higher number of co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Being older (50+ years) and female were associated with higher odds of being in the HMC or MMC classes. The policy implications for providing medical care to incarcerates with complex mixtures of medical conditions and psychiatric disorders are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay critiques contemporary imperial theorizing for its economic reductionism and lack of institutional specificity of the imperial state, and posits the centrality of class analysis. The study proceeds to emphasize how specific class alignments in emerging countries interacting with imperial configurations can overcome underdevelopment and proceed to world power. In the final section the study points to the changes and continuities in US imperial relations with Latin America and the potentialities and constraints on further growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine whether subgroups could be identified among a sample of adolescents presenting for bariatric surgery. Methods. Participants were 125 severely obese adolescents enrolled in a bariatric surgery program referred for a psychiatric evaluation. A latent class analysis was conducted with self-report and clinician-rated measures of depressive symptoms, total problems by the Youth Self-Report Scale, anxiety severity, eating pathology, psychiatric diagnoses, quality of life, and family functioning. Results. A 3-class model yielded the best overall fit to the data. Adolescents in the ''eating pathology'' class demonstrated high levels of both eating disordered and other psychopathology. The second class, or ''low psychopathology'' class exhibited the fewest psychosocial problems, whereas adolescents in the third class were intermediate on measures of psychopathology, which is consistent with ''non-specific psychopathology.'' Conclusions. The latent class analysis identified homogeneous subgroups with different levels of psychopathology among a heterogeneous sample of severely obese adolescents. The identification of clinically relevant subgroups in this study offers an important initial means for examining psychopathology among adolescent bariatric surgery candidates and suggests a number of avenues for future research. Clinical Trials Registry: Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAGB) as a Treatment for Morbid Obesity in Adolescents, NCT01045499 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to this issue's symposium examines two concurrent conversations: one within a group of immigrant worker cooperatives dispersed across the United States in the run-up to the United States Social Forum (USSF), and the second within the Association for Economic and Social Analysis (AESA) on the connections between worker cooperatives and class. Are worker cooperatives firms where workers collectively produce, appropriate, and distribute surplus value? What other conditions outside the firm are required for a generalized communism? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies advanced conceptualization and measurement to an analysis of acculturation among 1632 Mexican-heritage preadolescents. We assessed whether – and how – multiple measures combine to form a latent acculturation construct that groups individuals into classes; and determine how many and what classes (or types) of acculturation are experienced by this sample of 5th graders. Measures included attitudinal, behavioral, and linguistic acculturation, generation status, time in the US, ethnic identification, and contact with the culture of origin. The analysis identified five classes of acculturation, differing in size and characterized by specific measures of acculturation: less acculturated, moderately bicultural, strongly bicultural, highly acculturated, and marginalized. Although most youths fell into the first four classes, consonant with their exposure to American society, a small minority of youths fell into the last class. Despite substantial exposure to US culture and recent exposure to Mexican culture, these youth showed little affinity for either culture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of the paper is to apply a political economy framework both to explain the rise of the information technology (IT) industry and to analyse the spatial and developmental consequences of this growth, especially the distributive dimension on the wider society. The purpose is also to reveal the contradictions associated with the industry, question the crude optimism surrounding the IT sector's transformative capabilities, and by extension, assess the ‘model’ of development implicit with its growth trajectory. As there is class bias in the workings of the sector, which excludes large swathes of the population and reproduces educational inequality, policy implications are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]