by wes on
Dec 11, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Article: Democracy versus Distinction: A Study of Omnivorousness in Gourmet Food Writing. American Journal of Sociology, July 2007
Summary: Hamburgers, macaroni, and meatloaf. Traditional working-class fare or signs of a populist revolution? Although the ascendancy of the cupcake may look like a democratic swelling within the ranks of highbrow cuisine, a recent study by Josée Johnston and Shyon Baumann (American Journal of Sociology, July 2007) suggests gourmet food is still all about taste and distinction. Food critics have simply become more “omnivorous”—well-versed in many different cuisines—by showcasing the more obscure traits of everyday foods only a refined palette can discern. What makes a roadside diner or homemade casserole gourmet is their authenticity and exoticism. However, what counts as exotic or authentic depends on the expertise of someone with first-class taste and loads of frequent flier miles.
UPDATE: This Discovery was published in our Winter 2008 issue.
by jon on
Dec 05, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Article: It’s the Message, Not the Messenger: The Declining Significance of Black-White Contact in a “Colorblind” Society. Sociological Inquiry, August 2007.
Summary: Eileen O’Brien and Kathleen Odell Korgen each had two separate projects: O’Brien studied a group of white antiracist activists and Korgen studied black-white friendship pairs. When they brought their data together, they found they made for an interesting comparison. Contrary to the expectations of contact theory, whites with close black friends did not have strong anti-racist views and those whites participating in antiracism activism did not necessarily have many close black friends. They attribute this finding to colorblind attitudes. “Colorblindness” encourages Americans to treat all people purely as individuals and not as members of racial or ethnic groups. As a result, their respondents didn’t re-evaluate their view of a racial group after positive individual contact: they simply exempted that individual from what they thought about the racial group.
UPDATE: This Discovery was published in our Winter 2008 issue.
by jon on
Dec 05, 2007 at 9:21 am
Article: The Income Digital Divide: Trends and Predictions for Levels of Internet Use. Social Forces, February 2007.
Summary: Steven P. Martin and John P. Robinson examine the pace of Internet adoption. They find that while the number of people with internet access is increasing each year, the rate of increase is slowing. Importantly, they find the rate of internet adoption is slowing more dramatically for low-income citizens than their more affluent colleagues:
These differential rates of diffusion, combined with an overall slowing of the diffusion of Internet use since 2001, suggest that it may be 2009 before a majority of lowest income Americans use the Internet.
They also note that this trend doesn’t hold in many other countries. For example, the United Kingdom has similar levels of income inequality as the United States, yet has decreasing levels of inequality with respect to Internet access by income.
UPDATE: This Discovery was published in our Winter 2008 issue.