Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The relationship between central and peripheral processing of ELM and online and memory-based processing of impression formation are examined with scene order and scene proportion of broadcast news stories. Contrary to common belief that central and online processing concur, the study found evidence of central and memory-based processing. Scenes shown at the beginning of a story determined people’s memory and attitudes about the political candidates shown in broadcast news, which indicates that people processed the information through the central route. SEM analyses show that people formed impression of candidates based on what they recalled from the story. The implication of the finding is discussed in the study.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: My research is a sociological examination of how music as a cultural form is a resource in the transformation of identity in generational terms. I am concerned with how identity negotiation occurs within a music scene or community. Specifically, how is the music itself a resource for the transformation of identity, and how is that identity-building process specific to a particular historical and generational moment? I examine identity construction on three levels: generational, scene (or subcultural), and individual. I have four sets of research questions, concerned with identity negotiation, age-related subcultural participation, uses of music, and the evolution of “the scene” or subculture. In this paper, I present preliminary data to examine emergent themes in the maintenance of a cumulative identity: growth of self, evolution of musical tastes, and home or family.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In this article we introduce the concept of scenes and analyze the relationship be-tween social movements and movement scenes. We define a scene as a network of people who identify as part of a group and share a common set of beliefs and convic-tions, and which is centered around a particular location or set of locations. It is ar-gued that scenes, when attached to social movements, can serve to support and sus-tain movements by serving 1) as a mobilization pool for movement actions and dem-onstrations; 2) as a site for experimentation with alternative organizational struc-tures, decision-making processes, and modes of interaction; 3) as a social space for the construction of commitment frames and collective identities; and 4) as a set of “abeyance structures” that can preserve movement culture, ideals, and practices from one wave of mobilization to the next. We conclude with a discussion of the rele-vance of movement scenes for research on social movements and investigations into the nature of civil society and the relationship between associations and democracy. We argue that because movement scenes are likely to make a qualitatively different contribution to democracy than either non-scene related movements or traditional voluntary associations, they should be conceptualized as a distinct sector of civil so-ciety. Secondly, we argue that the nature of the relationship between movement and scene is an important factor mediating the democratic impact of social movements.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Neo-Tocquevillians have conceived civic ties with a distinctive, widely diffusing concept of social capital developed by Robert Putnam. This paper argues that in research practice, “social capital” often turns Tocqueville's qualitative argument into a quantifiable argument about group ties, individual attitudes and behaviors, frustrating its own analytic intentions. By failing to grasp the varying meanings of social ties, and by imputing to civic groups a social capacity that some civic groups do not exercise, Putnam's social capital concept undercuts its Tocquevillian aspirations. The paper employs an alternative, one focused on the institutionalized customs of group life, that does the qualitative work that the social capital concept tries to do but can't. Empirical support for these critiques comes from ethnographic evidence on the customs of two, local, “plug-in” style volunteering projects. In these projects, volunteers sign up for time slots in programs organized by recruiters or social service professional; this style of civic activity is widespread in the U.S. Research here suggests that the institutionalized customs of volunteering often do not allow the pro-active pondering and planning that democratic, civic relationships require by definition. Tocqueville, read closely, offers insights that we still need for understanding civic limits as well as potentials.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper examines women’s experience in straight edge, a hardcore music scene with supposedly progressive tenets and a strong stance against sexism. Interviews with forty-seven straight edge women and men reveal that straight edgers believe gender bears little influence on how one experiences the scene despite their offered evidence to the contrary. We explain this discrepancy through four myths that permeate the scene, ultimately precluding women from embracing feminism and becoming full participants in the scene.