A Cross-Cultural Comparative Analysis of Levels of Social Development and Gender Stratification

There is a current debate in social science literature, in Marxist theory, and in Feminist theory on the role of gender in affecting the form of inequality. Particular emphasis is placed on the controversy over whether or not women suffer universal exploitation and oppression. The debate over the role of gender in the stratification process is further complicated by a division in orientation: some consider gender inequality to be conditioned by relations of production or distribution that arise historically, and therefore are not universal (Engles 1968; Friedl 1978; Sacks 1974; Sanday 1974); while others trace it ultimately to fundamental biological differences, which are universal (Chodorow 1978; Collins 1971; Murphy and Murphy 1974; Tiger 1968.) Research in both of these areas has tended to be either single case studies or controlled cross-cultural comparative studies. The findings have suggested that gender may be an important variable in all systems of stratification (MacCormack and Strathern 1980; Rosaldo and Lamphere 1974; Schlegel 1977; Tiger 1968). In spite of the growing support for the existence of gender as an important variable in all systems of stratification, there has been little large scale cross-cultural comparative research. A cross-sectional study incorporating data from numerous cultures would allow a more complete examination of the role of gender and stratification systems. In addition, the varying role of gender in cultures at different levels of development and with varying systems of stratification can be examined in this type of research. By using George Murdock\u27s 1967 Ethnographic Atlas, which contains information on 1170 societies, it is possible to conduct a large scale cross-cultural comparative study in which the relative degree of gender inequality is compared to levels of development across cultures. Levels of development can be determined by examining economic activities, the sexual differentiation in the division of labor, and by comparing rights of ownership and the use of resources to the control of the productions of goods for use. The latter analysis is useful when examining egalitarian societies based on kin relations. It will be possible to examine more closely the relative degree of gender inequality to levels of development by looking at both egalitarian and stratified societies. Whereas some researchers accept the assumption that egalitarian societies produce solely for subsistence (Berreman 1981; Leacock 1978) this study focuses on the assumption that relations of production contribute to stratification or equality. As such, egalitarian societies may take on the role of stratification. By relying on the extensive geographical, social and economic information contained in the Ethnographic Atlas, the research questions examine if there is a positive correlation between degrees of gender inequality and levels of development. If there are few correlations between gender inequality and levels of development it will be useful to examine if the degree of gender inequality is affected by variables independent of levels of development

A Cross-Cultural Comparative Analysis of Levels of Social Development and Gender Stratification

There is a current debate in social science literature, in Marxist theory, and in Feminist theory on the role of gender in affecting the form of inequality. Particular emphasis is placed on the controversy over whether or not women suffer universal exploitation and oppression. The debate over the role of gender in the stratification process is further complicated by a division in orientation: some consider gender inequality to be conditioned by relations of production or distribution that arise historically, and therefore are not universal (Engles 1968; Friedl 1978; Sacks 1974; Sanday 1974); while others trace it ultimately to fundamental biological differences, which are universal (Chodorow 1978; Collins 1971; Murphy and Murphy 1974; Tiger 1968.) Research in both of these areas has tended to be either single case studies or controlled cross-cultural comparative studies. The findings have suggested that gender may be an important variable in all systems of stratification (MacCormack and Strathern 1980; Rosaldo and Lamphere 1974; Schlegel 1977; Tiger 1968). In spite of the growing support for the existence of gender as an important variable in all systems of stratification, there has been little large scale cross-cultural comparative research. A cross-sectional study incorporating data from numerous cultures would allow a more complete examination of the role of gender and stratification systems. In addition, the varying role of gender in cultures at different levels of development and with varying systems of stratification can be examined in this type of research. By using George Murdock\u27s 1967 Ethnographic Atlas, which contains information on 1170 societies, it is possible to conduct a large scale cross-cultural comparative study in which the relative degree of gender inequality is compared to levels of development across cultures. Levels of development can be determined by examining economic activities, the sexual differentiation in the division of labor, and by comparing rights of ownership and the use of resources to the control of the productions of goods for use. The latter analysis is useful when examining egalitarian societies based on kin relations. It will be possible to examine more closely the relative degree of gender inequality to levels of development by looking at both egalitarian and stratified societies. Whereas some researchers accept the assumption that egalitarian societies produce solely for subsistence (Berreman 1981; Leacock 1978) this study focuses on the assumption that relations of production contribute to stratification or equality. As such, egalitarian societies may take on the role of stratification. By relying on the extensive geographical, social and economic information contained in the Ethnographic Atlas, the research questions examine if there is a positive correlation between degrees of gender inequality and levels of development. If there are few correlations between gender inequality and levels of development it will be useful to examine if the degree of gender inequality is affected by variables independent of levels of development

Introduction: Contemporary policing and non-warranted volunteering

Research on policing has tended to focus on paid and warranted officers, often overlooking the large and, in many jurisdictions, expanding army of volunteers working with or for the police. Where there has been research on police volunteering this has focused mainly on warranted auxiliaries, reserves or special constables. This Special Issue of Policing and Society contains three articles that add to our knowledge and understanding of non-warranted volunteering, and of the lived experiences of those who volunteer. In this introduction we provide some context for these three articles. The articles draw on experiences within England and Wales, yet they are relevant to other jurisdictions that make use of volunteers. For instance, volunteers have been utilised in the US in efforts to support community policing, improve police-community relations, and perform specific roles that the police find difficult to do (Ren et al. Citation2006, Ayling Citation2007, Wolf et al. Citation2016, Albrecht Citation2017). Volunteers are utilised elsewhere. For instance, in Canada (Parent Citation2017), South Africa (Bezuidenhout Citation2017) and Hungary (Kardos and Szoke Citation2017) volunteers are available to support the main body of regular paid officers, although these are mainly warranted auxiliaries or reserves

Models in the delivery of depression care: a systematic review of randomised and controlled intervention trials

BACKGROUND: There is still debate as to which features, types or components of primary care interventions are associated with improved depression outcomes. Previous reviews have focused on components of collaborative care models in general practice settings. This paper aims to determine the effective components of depression care in primary care through a systematic examination of both general practice and community based intervention trials. METHODS: Fifty five randomised and controlled research trials which focused on adults and contained depression outcome measures were identified through PubMed, PsycInfo and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. Trials were classified according to the components involved in the delivery of treatment, the type of treatment, the primary focus or setting of the study, detailed features of delivery, and the discipline of the professional providing the treatment. The primary outcome measure was significant improvement on the key depression measure. RESULTS: Components which were found to significantly predict improvement were the revision of professional roles, the provision of a case manager who provided direct feedback and delivered a psychological therapy, and an intervention that incorporated patient preferences into care. Nurse, psychologist and psychiatrist delivered care were effective, but pharmacist delivery was not. Training directed to general practitioners was significantly less successful than interventions that did not have training as the most important intervention. Community interventions were effective. CONCLUSION: Case management is important in the provision of care in general practice. Certain community models of care (education programs) have potential while others are not successful in their current form (pharmacist monitoring)