Formal Voluntary Associations Research Articles

Does the standard voluntary association question capture informal associations?

Sociologists have long been attentive to participation in associational life. Yet, despite being repeatedly cautioned to consider more informal groups, most researchers focus on participation in formal voluntary associations using national surveys with fixed group categories, such as the General Social Survey (GSS). In this paper, we use new GSS data on the names of the voluntary associations listed by respondents to evaluate whether voluntary association prompts capture or miss various types of informal associations. We code the formality of the associations listed by respondents and also compare to a new sample of bottom-up, informal voluntary associations. We demonstrate that some response categories adequately capture both formal and informal associations, e.g., sports groups. However, our results also suggest that the standard voluntary association question both omits entire categories of informal associations and omits some informal variants of associations within categories. In the tradition of Baumgartner and Walker (1988), Wuthnow (1994), and Wellman et al. (2001), we suggest that we may misunderstand citizen associations if we ignore informal associating.

Social Movements, Voluntary Associations and Cycles of Protest in Finland 1905‐91

During the 20th century five cycles of protest have emerged in Finland: 1905‐18, 1928‐32, 1944‐48, 1966‐76, and the continuing cycle of new social movements beginning around the end of the 1970s. This article begins with an examination of the differences and similarities in the formation of these cycles against the background of antecedent political opportunity structures. The question of the relationship between social protest movements and formal voluntary associations is then addressed. It is shown that social movements and formal voluntary associations have been interactive, mutually reinforcing ways of reacting to different manifestations of social crisis. Existing formal associations have created the preconditions for the occurrence of protest movements and vice versa: new voluntary associations have been born out of cycles of protest and protest movements. Movements and voluntary associations have also been central in creating pressures for reforming state institutions and thus in developing the Finnish welfare state.

An organizational analysis of political action committees

As the number and putative importance of political action committees have grown, so too has scholarly attention to this new breed of political organization. Yet this attention has been uneven. Although much is now known about the aggregate spending patterns of PACs, much less is known about their internal lives. The present study attempts to open the PAC black box to empirical inquiry. Drawing on interviews with the managers of 70 Washington-based political action committees, we suggest how theoretical perspectives about formal voluntary associations may be usefully applied in explaining the behavior of PACs. After examining the relationships among several variables — organizational goals, constituency relations and decision making, strategy, and interorganizational relations — we show how these forces affect the behavior of corporate, trade/membership, labor, and nonconnected PACS.

Middle Class Communitas: The Fraternal Order of Badgers

EthosVolume 2, Issue 4 p. 356-376 Free Access Middle Class Communitas: The Fraternal Order of Badgers Noel J. Chrisman, Noel J. Chrisman NoelJ. Chrisman is assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Nursing Care Systems, School of Nursing, at the University of Washington, Seattle.Search for more papers by this author Noel J. Chrisman, Noel J. Chrisman NoelJ. Chrisman is assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Nursing Care Systems, School of Nursing, at the University of Washington, Seattle.Search for more papers by this author First published: Winter 1974 https://doi.org/10.1525/eth.1974.2.4.02a00030Citations: 2 AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat REFERENCES Axelrod, Morris. 1956. Urban Structure and Social Participation. American Sociological Review 21(1): 13– 18. Bell, Wendell, and Maryanne T. Force. 1956. Urban Neighborhood Types and Participation in Formal Associations. American Sociological Review 21(1): 25– 34. Gennep, Arnold van. 1960. The Rites of Passage. University of Chicago Press. Gist, Noel. 1940. Secret Societies: A Cultural Study of Fraternalism in the United States. University of Missouri Studies 15: 4. Goldschmidt, Walter. 1947. As You Sow. Harcourt, Brace and Company. Goodenough, Ward. 1965. Rethinking “Status and Role”: Toward a General Model of the Cultural Organization of Social Relationships, The Relevance of Models for Social Anthropology ( Michael Banton, ed.).ASA Monographs 1. Tavistock. Lynd, Robert S., and Helen Merrell Lynd. 1956. Middletown: A Study in American Culture. Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc. (Harvest Book edition; original, 1929). Martindale, Don. 1960. American Social Structure: Historical Antecedents and Contemporary Analysis. Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. Schmidt, Alvin, and Nicholas Babchuk. 1972. Formal Voluntary Associations and Change over Time: A Study of American Fraternal Associations. Journal of Voluntary Action Research 1(1): 46– 55. Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1954. Democracy in America. Volume II. Vintage Books. Turner, Victor. 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine Publishing Company. Warner, W. Lloyd, and Paul S. Lunt. 1941. The Social Life of a Modern Community. Yale University Press. Warner, W. Lloyd, and associates 1949. Democracy in Jonesville: A Study in Quality and Inequality. Harper and Row. Harper Torch-books, 1964. Williams, Robin. 1960. American Society: A Sociological Interpretation. ( ed. 2). Alfred A. Knopf. Wirth, Louis. 1969. Urbanism as a Way of Life, Classic Essays in the Culture of Cities ( Richard Sennett, ed.). Appleton-Century-Crofts. Citing Literature Volume2, Issue4Winter 1974Pages 356-376 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Joining Formal Voluntary Associations and Social Action Among the Poor

Joining Formal Voluntary Associations and Social Action Among the Poor

Dominant Statuses and Involvement in Formal Voluntary Associations

Dominant Statuses and Involvement in Formal Voluntary Associations

Participation in Adult Education Agencies and Personal Influence

OVER THE PAST two decades the study of personal influence has underscored the importance of the primary group in the flow of information from the mass media and in forming opinions and making decisions.' Research on opinion leadership and personal influence has focused on a wide variety of phenomena, such as political opinions, voting behavior, consumer behavior, and the adoption of innovations such as agricultural practices and drugs.2 In addition, there have been several studies of interaction affecting decisions to join formal voluntary associations. Such research suggests that face-to-face contact is important in decisions to join a wide range of activities including educational adult programs. Babchuk and Gordon, for example, found in their study of slum voluntary association that social interaction was influential in up to 84 percent of the decisions by new members to participate. Sills reports in The Volunteers that 90 percent of members decided to participate as a result of face-to-face interaction; and Booth in a study of decisions to join voluntary associations in Nebraska found that face-to-face contact was associated with

Patterns of Social Participation in a Two-Generation Sample of Italian-Americans

A STRIKNG feature of the social participation literature is the tendency to concentrate on one type of activity. For example, studies dealing with formal organizations have described the character of such groups and their participants. Studies of friendship participation have traced the patterns of friendships and the type of people who are attracted to each other as friends. Consequently, few sociologists have focused their attention upon a question like: Are there any patterns or relationships between the different types of social participation? Participation in formal voluntary associations and informal voluntary interactions may be related to each other, influence each other, or at least be similarly influenced by other variables.

The Voluntary Associations of Negroes

Negroes are more likely to be affiliated with formal voluntary associations than whites, especially at the lower-class level. However, Negroes who are affiliated with voluntary associations are much like whites who are affiliated. The more widespread affiliation of Negroes is seen as being pathological in Myrdal's terms. Negroes are active in associations because they are not allowed to be active in much of the other organized life of American society. The organizations of Negroes follow a pattern that is a generation behind the general American pattern. The greater affiliation of Negroes may be related to the looser ties that characterize the extended family structure of the Negro, especially the lower-class Negro. Finally, the voluntary association may function in much the same way as the Negro church to provide the Negro not only with an opportunity for self expression and status recognition, but also with an avenue to compete for prestige, to hold office, to exercise power and control, and to win applause and acclaim.

Occupational Mobility and Membership in Formal Voluntary Associations: A Note on Research

Occupational Mobility and Membership in Formal Voluntary Associations: A Note on Research