On the Relationship Between First Occupation and Current Occupational Status

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68361/2/10.1177_073088847400100402.pd

Quantum models of classical mechanics: maximum entropy packets

In a previous paper, a project of constructing quantum models of classical properties has been started. The present paper concludes the project by turning to classical mechanics. The quantum states that maximize entropy for given averages and variances of coordinates and momenta are called ME packets. They generalize the Gaussian wave packets. A non-trivial extension of the partition-function method of probability calculus to quantum mechanics is given. Non-commutativity of quantum variables limits its usefulness. Still, the general form of the state operators of ME packets is obtained with its help. The diagonal representation of the operators is found. A general way of calculating averages that can replace the partition function method is described. Classical mechanics is reinterpreted as a statistical theory. Classical trajectories are replaced by classical ME packets. Quantum states approximate classical ones if the product of the coordinate and momentum variances is much larger than Planck constant. Thus, ME packets with large variances follow their classical counterparts better than Gaussian wave packets.Comment: 26 pages, no figure. Introduction and the section on classical limit are extended, new references added. Definitive version accepted by Found. Phy

Intrinsic and extrinsic properties of quantum systems

The paper attempts to convince that the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics does not contradict philosophical realism by throwing light onto certain properties of quantum systems that seem to have escaped attention as yet. The exposition starts with the philosophical notions of realism. Then, the quantum mechanics as it is usually taught is demoted to a mere part of the theory called phenomenology of observations, and the common impression about its contradiction to realism is explained. The main idea of the paper, the physical notion of intrinsic properties, is introduced and many examples thereof are given. It replaces the irritating dichotomy of quantum and classical worlds by a much softer difference between intrinsic and extrinsic properties, which concern equally microscopic and macroscopic systems. Finally, the classicality and the quantum measurement are analyzed and found to present some still unsolved problems. A possible way of dealing with the Schr\"{o}dinger cat is suggested that is based on the intrinsic properties. A simple quantum model of one classical property illustrates how our philosophy may work.Comment: 20 pages, no figure. Comments are wellcom

Disability differentials in educational attainment in England: primary and secondary effects

Childhood disability has been largely overlooked in social stratification and life course research. As a result, we know remarkably little about mechanisms behind well-documented disability differentials in educational outcomes. This study investigates educational transitions of disabled youth using data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England. We draw on social stratification literature on primary and secondary effects as well as that on stigma and labeling in order to explain disabled young people’s educational outcomes. We find that disability differentials in transition rates to full-time academic upper secondary education and to university are largely the result of primary effects, reflected in differences in school performance between disabled and non-disabled young people. However, we also find evidence for secondary effects, with similarly achieving disabled young people less likely to pursue full-time academic upper secondary education compared to their non-disabled peers. We examine the extent to which these effects can be explained by disabled youth’s suppressed educational expectations as well as their experiences of being bullied at school, which we link to the stigma experienced by disabled young people and their families. We find that educational expectations play an important role at crucial transitions in the English school system, while the effect of bullying is considerably smaller. By drawing attention to different social processes contributing to disability differentials in attainment, our study moves beyond medical models that implicitly assume a naturalized association of disability with poor educational outcomes, and demonstrates the parallels of disability with other ascriptive inequalities

An analysis of material consumption culture in the Muslim world

In this paper, we examine the notion of material consumption culture in Islamic societies. We differentiate between institutionalised religion and religion as culture. We contest the Orientalist portrayal of Islam as a fanatic ideology opposed to Western Modernity’s features of secularism, individualism, and pluralism. With reference to the Qur’anic text, we discuss that such qualities are embedded with Islam. We do not interpret the Qur’an from a theological perspective; rather, we seek to demonstrate the possibilities of its multiple interpretations. We argue that, in their everyday life consumption practices, Muslims (re)interpret religious guidelines in different ways and refer to Islam, as a transcendental set of guidelines, to make better sense of their cultural practices in different ways. We summarise our discussion by highlighting the importance of analysing the culture of consumption from the lens of insiders and offer directions for future research

Trends and transitions in the institutional environment for public and private science

The last quarter-century bore witness to a sea change in academic involvement with commerce. Widespread university-based efforts to identify, manage, and market intellectual property (IP) have accompanied broad shifts in the relationship between academic and proprietary approaches to the dissemination and use of science and engineering research. Such transformations are indicators of institutional changes at work in the environment faced by universities. This paper draws upon a fifteen-year panel (1981–1995) of university-level data for 87 research-intensive US campuses in order to document trends and transitions in relationships among multiple indicators of academic and commercial engagement. The institutional environment for public and private science is volatile, shifting in fits and starts from a situation conducive to organizational learning through high volume patenting to a more challenging arrangement that links indiscriminate pursuit of IP with declines in both the volume and impact of academic science. The pattern and timing of these transitions may support an enduring system of stratification that offers increasing returns to first-movers while limiting the opportunities available to universities that are later entrants to the commercial realm. Unpacking the systematic effects of university research commercialization requires focused attention on the sources and trajectories of profound institutional change.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42839/1/10734_2004_Article_2916.pd

Social Inequalities of Post-secondary Educational Aspirations : influence of social background, school composition and institutional context

The first goal of this article is to assess, for each country belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the influence of pupils’ sociocultural background on educational aspirations. The second goal is to explore whether, after controlling for educational achievement, the residual influence of sociocultural background is still significant. In addition, the author estimates whether the sociocultural and academic characteristics of school composition have an additional impact on educational aspirations in this group of countries. Finally, they shows that the structural characteristics of school systems moderate the influence of individual characteristics and school composition on educational aspirations