Summary: Web users earn more than those of nonusers, but it is not simply the high-tech skill or work productivity that makes it possible. Computer users have advantage when workers are connected to networks, the best earnings show among those online at work and at home, according to Paul DiMaggio and Bart Bonikowski (American Sociological Review, April 2008).

Between 2000 and 2001, U.S. workers using the Internet increased their earnings at a faster rate than those offline. The study analyzed the net use and wage effects of 9,446 American adult workers with the Current Population Survey, Bureau of Census. The earnings of web surfers grew more than those who don’t. Particularly intriguing is that those online “at work and home in both years” and “at work or home in 2000 but both locations in 2001” did even better than connected only at work.

DiMaggio and Bonikowski say some web skills and behaviors were rewarded in the labor market. Internet users may have benefited from their access to better job information or from signaling effects from using fashionable technology. Digital divide is not just an access gap. Apparently, the split creates income inequality and beyond doubt a lot more. -C.S.

Summary: The battle over gay marriage has been waging on in American society, with some individuals and organizations fighting to preserve the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, and others attempting to expand this right to gays and lesbians. Stacey Brumbaugh, Laura Sanchez, Steven Nock, and James Wright (Journal of Marriage and Family, May 2008) examine attitudes surrounding gay marriage in three states that have considered “covenant marriage legislation,” designed to preserve marriage by establishing more strict marriage requirements.

While others have examined who is most likely to oppose gay marriage, this study uses survey data from Louisiana, Arizona, and Minnesota to examine directly “the relationship between willingness to strengthen marriage for heterosexuals and opposition to gay marriage.” In line with past findings, blacks and men are more disapproving of gay marriage than whites and women. Not surprisingly, more religious and politically conservative individuals were also more opposed. While Louisianans were generally more disapproving of gay marriage than Minnesotans, this state-level effect was not significant when religious, political, and social attitudes were taken into consideration.

Summary: It’s no surprise to hear that religiousness is linked to a decreased likelihood of marital infidelity. But David Atkins and Deborah Kessel (Journal of Marriage and Family, May 2008) look a little closer at this relationship and ask what exactly about religion keeps spouses from coveting their neighbors’ wives. Contrary to what some may expect, the authors found that religious attendance, but not faith and prayer, predict marital fidelity.

Using data from the 1998 General Social Survey, the authors constructed nine different ways of measuring religiousness: nearness to God, attendance, prayer, viewing religion as a problem, transformation, doubts, forgiveness, faith, and a punitive view of God. The authors found that religious attendance was the only measure that significantly predicted rates of infidelity. Individuals who rarely if ever attend services are about four times more likely to have an affair compared to those who attend religious services with great frequency. Higher education, extreme high ($110,000 or more) or low (under $10,000) income, previous divorce, and marital unhappiness were also predictors of infidelity.

These findings go against the idea that personal beliefs are just as powerful as public religious attendance, at least when it comes to fidelity. Moreover, the authors find that “endorsing religion as being very important without the behavioral component of attending services was positively associated with infidelity.” The authors argue religious attendance prevents infidelity because it is often a shared activity among spouses, implying shared values, and opens up cheaters to shame and embarrassment from a community if revealed. It appears that dragging your spouse to church on Sunday morning may do more than restore their faith in God.

Summary:

Stringent immigration laws and increasing deportation of non-citizens may have many more social consequences than Americans realize—just ask the deportees.

Over the past two decades the U.S. has passed a series of immigration reforms that make it easier and quicker to deport noncitizens, increasing the number of deportees from 40,000 a year in the early 1990s to 208,000 in 2005. To understand the effect of increasing deportation, Hagan, Eschbach, and Rodriguez (International Migration Review 2008) draw on a random sample of 300 Salvadoran deportees in their home communities. They find current U.S. immigration policy pose dire social costs for deportees and their families.

Other than the obvious psychological costs of leaving long-established family and work ties, many deportees also noted the financial burden placed on their families. On the one hand, deportees are likely to have families and dependents in the U.S. Since 95% of deportees are male, this takes away the main breadwinner from the family and may lead to a greater reliance on the state. On the other hand, 72% of deportees remit to extended family (especially parents) in El Salvador. Remittances in the small isthmus nation surpass national exports as a source of foreign exchange and many families rely on the cash flow for survival. When noncitizens are deported, they put both families in jeopardy.

While contention over immigration will not be solved anytime soon, it would serve us well to remember Emma Lazarus’ words inscribed on the statue of liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor…”

Summary:
Praying may have been found to have positive psychological benefits, but it may not necessarily bring you wealth—especially if you are a conservative Protestant (CP).

According to Lisa Keister (American Journal of Sociology 2008), conservative protestant maintain specific cultural values that limit asset accumulation over the life course. Lower educational achievement expectations, early fertility, large family size, and limited labor force participation are partially responsible for curbing wealth.

Religious beliefs also lower accumulation among conservative Protestants. Because adherents believe that money belongs to God, they seek divine guidance in managing their wealth and avoid amassing more than they need. Doing so reduces accumulation over time as CPs don’t reap the benefits of compounding interest and reduces the wealth inherited by the next generation.

Along with beliefs, Keister found that the longer a person was a member of the church [church membership duration], the more likely they were to have lower assets. Conservative Protestants raised and maintained their faith had the lowest wealth; those who were raised as CP and subsequently left the church had the second lowest wealth; and those who only joined the faith as an adult were least disadvantaged. More exposure to this value set left member’s with less resources.

Known for its high levels of inequality and religiosity, the U.S. offers an important case study in understanding how religion may inadvertently cause poverty.

Summary:

As Americans age, are they happier in their golden years?  In short, Yang Yang (ASR April 2008) argues that, for most,  with age comes happiness, but in varying amounts depending who you are.

Following a very shallow upside-down “U” curve, American find they happier as they age, peaking in their late fifties and finally declining in their late seventies.  However, specific cohorts were found to be less likely to enjoy the the benefits of maturity.  Notably, “baby boomers” experienced less happiness, which may be caused by the formative experience of growing up during a high population era.  Increased competition in school and the labor market may have had a lasting impact on this group.

Other than cohort, privilege was also found to be important in determining happiness.  While privilege in the forms of wealth, education,  gender, and race, give some people a heads up throughout much of the life course,  as people grow older, these benefits equalize.  The economic advantage is washed away as previous social welfare benefits such as health care are the same for everyone.  Elders must also negotiate similar life events such as the death of loved ones and a breaking down of social support, ironing out any significant differences.

Yang’s findings give us something to think about as our hair grays and our pace slows — carpe diem.

Summary:

Stories are an ubiquitous part of everyday communication. People use stories (narratives) to give color and context to changes in their lives or in the world, especially when it is a life changing event. In this article Leonard and Ellen recognize that the narratives given by women who are HIV positive and poor are often similar to the narratives told by institutions. They argue these narratives shape the women tell their story, even though the institutional stories may not fit the storylines of these women.

Summary: Many drug and alcohol treatment programs, as well as prison rehabilitation programs, are centered on the healing power of spirituality. Yet sociologists studying the life course usually emphasize the impact of other factors on delinquency, such as “marital attachment and job stability, or the criminality of the individual’s social ties. ” In this study, the authors follow over 150 people for 21 years to see what factors have the most influence on their criminality and find that religious belief and commitment had very little effect on criminal behavior.

Summary: From Kanye to the Ivory Tower, our society has fiercly debated what went wrong in New Orleans in the immediate period after hurricane Katrina, especially as to why the evacuation was handled so poorly and resulted in so many problems. Some, like Mr. West, blame poor decision-making and lack of aid on the part of the federal government, while other commentators argue that the poor have an excessive dependency on the government. These “welfare dependency theorists” argue that “a dependency-induced ‘mentality of helplessness’” prevalent amongst New Orleans residents was responsible for hampering the evacuation. To test the latter theory, Timothy Brezina used survey data to examine the characteristics of those New Orleanians who were trapped in the city after the hurricane. His findings indicate that, contrary to the claims of the welfare dependency theorists, over half of these New Orleanians were employed full time before Katrina hit and many showed great initiative after the storm. Multiple other factors the welfare dependency theorists would predict also did not hold true, suggesting the fault of the evacuations does not lie with the residents of New Orleans.

Summary: There’s nothing really inherently wrong with the oft-maligned pigeon, at least not when compared with any other bird. Rather, the problem seems to be that they just don’t know when to stay out of our way. In trying to discover why the pigeon became such a hated animal, Colin Jerolmack looked at New York Times articles from 1851 to 2006 (as well as supplementary articles from other papers) and found that because of our societal disctinction between nature and culture, animals are “out of place” (and therefore a problem) when “they are perceived to transgress spaces designated for human habitation.” While it’s usually framed as a health issue, the real problem seems to be that pigeon’s don’t understand they are to stay out of spaces designed for human use. As such, the term “rat with wings” neatly encapsulates the way modern Americans have come to view the pigeon.