Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Drawing upon qualitative data from stakeholders in convergence in Korea, this study traces the process of convergence in terms of technology, regulation, and policy, and examines how the stakeholders’ interests are aligned and coordinated in the process of convergence in Korea. Using actor network theory, the study relates the socio-technological construction of Korea’s strategy for convergence reform. Key research questions are: (1) What strategy has Korea adopted, and (2) What social and technological elements have influenced strategy formulation, and (3) How different interests have stabilized ideologies in which actors formulate their strategies based on their interests. Despite the dynamics of interactions, the actor-network around convergence has not been effectively stabilized yet, as the politics of convergence is complex and marked by paradoxical features. This study provides a theoretical basis for understanding why the convergence discussion in Korea has so far failed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Attitudes to government responsibilities are compared in Sweden, eastern and western Germany, and the US, 1990-2006, using data from the International Social Survey Program. A substantial convergence in attitudes is found for the period 1996-2006, since Americans become more positive in their attitudes towards state intervention, while opposite trends are found for Sweden and eastern Germany. While attitudinal differences between countries diminish, class differences are fairly stable, as are the differences between men and women and between different labour market status categories. It is speculated that the ‘great risk shift’ from employers to employees may be part of the explanation for changing attitudes towards redistributive public policies in the US.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The concept of social networks has emerged as an important element in the neighborhood effects literature. However, most community studies rely on indirect measures of social ties related to substantive concepts such as neighborliness, social capital and collective efficacy. Drawing upon survey data collected in the Bronx, this paper examines the degree of correspondence between traditional measures of community structure and properties of personal networks. Constructs such as “social cohesion” and “reciprocal exchange” are analyzed at both the individual-level and the census-tract level. Results show mixed support for the convergence between these set of indicators and network-based measures of social exchanges.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The utility of socio-demographic variables in predicting environmentalism remains controversial among environmental sociologists. Earlier studies suggested that environmental concerns are higher among predominantly White males, of middle to upper social class standing, and much lower among blacks and people of lower socioeconomic standing. Similarly, racial differences have been reported for risk perception and attitudes toward ecological risks. This paper explores the extent to which Blacks and Whites converge or diverge in various dimensions of environmentalism. Using a nationally representative General Social Survey (GSS) data-set, a series of discriminant models were conducted to test four specific hypotheses--the white only hypothesis, the convergence, cultural distinction hypotheses, and differential risk perception hypothesis. The results suggest that there is no one group with a monopoly when it comes to environmentalism. Nevertheless, Blacks have different environmental orientation than their White counterparts. Blacks scored much higher on risk items of the GSS. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Canadian longitudinal time-use findings between 1986 and 1998 demonstrate gender convergence in paid and domestic work in all employed stages of the life-cycle and polarization in time-use across stages in the life-cycle. Analysis of variance techniques demonstrate that patterns of time-use have become less gendered, though more varied among stages in the life-cycle. Employed parents of children under the age of five have taken on the highest combined loads of paid and un-paid work. Time-use strategies and the pattern of activity trade-offs indicate that time in personal care time has been traded-off for increased time in competing core categories of time-use. Findings demonstrate the renegotiation of family life that has occurred with increased female labour force participation. Theoretical implications with regard to dependent labour theory and the double-burden of paid and un-paid work are discussed and policies enabling flexible work-family arrangements are proposed.