Status Inconsistency Research Articles

Modern transformations of medicine space from medical care to a medical service

According to the authors, transformations in medicine in modern Russia are characterized by the transition to the market of medical services, which is considered as one of the causes of a relative status inflation, a decline in the prestige of the profession of a doctor. The discrepancy in the activity and status of this professional group is a determinant moment. Modern process of institutionalization of medicine is realizing in the change of the status and the marginalization of social-professional groups of the Institute of Medicine. In the opinion of the authors the process of marginalization of doctors is explained by the «concept of status inconsistency» proposed by G. Lensky.

A Bridge Too Far: Divestiture as a Strategic Reaction to Status Inconsistency

This study focuses on the market identities of firms and suggests that identity ambiguity is caused not only by bridging horizontal product categories but also by status inconsistency stemming from bridging vertical status categories. Focusing specifically on how firms reduce status inconsistency by restructuring their business portfolios, we argue that status inconsistency motivates firms to divest business units to present a more coherent vertical market identity. Emphasizing the interplay between horizontal and vertical identity ambiguity, we argue furthermore that status-inconsistent units that are related to the core business units within a firm are more likely to be divested. Using a comprehensive sample of publicly traded U.S. firms from 1998 to 2014, we report that status inconsistency increases the likelihood of divestiture that decreases status inconsistency, particularly for high-status firms. Moreover, although status-inconsistent units are generally more likely to be divested, this effect is stronger for core business units. This paper was accepted by Greta Hsu, organizations.

Poverty, Law, and Divine Justice in Persian and Hellenistic Judah by Johannes Unsok Ro

Reviewed by: Poverty, Law, and Divine Justice in Persian and Hellenistic Judah by Johannes Unsok Ro Michael S. Moore johannes unsok ro, Poverty, Law, and Divine Justice in Persian and Hellenistic Judah (AIL 32; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2018). Pp. xv + 300. $53.95. Carefully structured and well written, this volume contains (except for the chapter on "Jeremiah") a revised collection of Ro's previously published articles and book chapters on (a) the relationship between the shaping of the canon and literacy in the Hebrew community; (b) the attitude toward "strangers" in the Torah's law codes; (c) the development of the theological concept of divine punitive justice; (d) the concept of the "piety of the poor" (Armenfrömmigkeit), widely claimed to characterize portions of the Psalter; and (e) the notion of "poverty" in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the author's words, the intention of this book is not "to develop a single thesis, but to highlight some major issues in Persian- and Hellenistic-era Palestine" (p. 1). Chapter 1, "Challenges and Responses of the Second Temple Period," introduces the collection with a pithy, thoughtful critique of the sociological models put forward by Roland Boer (The Sacred Economy of Ancient Israel [Library of Ancient Israel; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2015]) and Gerhard Lenski (Power and Privilege: A Theory of Social Stratification [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966]). R. finds Boer's work attractive because it appears to refrain from examining ancient economies through anachronistic lenses segregating economics from religion. Yet, when Boer keeps segregating homo religiosus from homo economicus, R. interprets this to reflect an unwillingness/inability to extricate himself from the simplistic dichotomies of Karl Marx. Lenski's work is more helpful because, like Max Weber, Lenski promotes a much more nuanced understanding of how economic distribution systems actually work in the real world. Lenski's notion of "status inconsistency," for example, goes a long way toward helping R. explain the uneven relational dynamics often [End Page 355] characterizing postexilic Hebrew groups struggling to work together in the fragile Second Temple economy. This application of Lenski's notion of "status inconsistency" to a specific time and place is one of the book's most helpful insights. Chapter 2, "Literacy and the Socioeconomic Context of the Judean Postexilic Communities" (originally published in ZAW 120 [2008] 597-611), takes issue with the popular thesis of Rainer Albertz (Religionsgeschichte Israels in alttestamentlicher Zeit [GAT 8.1; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1992] 543-75) that impoverished Hebrew shepherds, farmers, and laborers must be the "authors" responsible for writing the psalms and prophetic passages critiquing the wealthy. Relying on Lenski's understanding of advanced agrarian societies, R. summarily rejects any attempt to hold illiterate people responsible for writing anything, much less the carefully constructed texts in Mal 2:17; 3:5, 13-21; Isa 29:17-24; 56:9–57:21; Psalms 9–10, 12, 14, 35, 40, 69, 70, 75, 82, 109, and 140. Chapter 3, "The Portrayal of Judean Communities in Persian-Era Palestine: Through the Lens of the Covenant Code" (originally published in Sem 56 [2014] 249-89), unfortunately presumes, with many others, that everything of significance in the Torah—every character, every event, every description, every warning—must originate from the minds of postexilic returnees. The belief underlying this approach (and it is a "belief") is that diachronic analysis is inapplicable to this material because none of it is historically "verifiable," not to mention "reliable" or (gasp!) "inspired." All laws in the Torah about the גר ("stranger"), for example, should therefore be understood as reflecting "an urgent problem for the Judean communities in Persian-era Palestine because of the massive number of returnees from the Babylonian Exile" (p. 42). This presumptuous methodology frequently structures studies like this one—studies that refuse, for whatever reason, to read Hebrew legal material from any perspective other than that which might be called, for lack of a better term, "rigid postexilism." Thus, it is no coincidence that this volume does not even mention the possibility of learning about Hebrew law from intertextual analysis alongside Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and/or Hittite law. Chapter 4, "The Postexilic Construction of the Prophetic Figure of Jeremiah," begins by considering whether...

Learning One’s Place: Status Perceptions and Social Capital in Teacher Communities

Teacher collaboration in communities is a popular instructional improvement policy. However, not all teachers are equally integrated into communities. So, they may not have the same opportunities to learn. This exploratory study of 215 urban public school teachers indicates community integration and peer learning are associated with teachers’ social status—namely, the perceived ranking of their own and their colleagues’ expertise. High status teachers are more frequently sought out, low status teachers less so. Teachers who perceive their own status more favorably than how their colleagues perceive it associate more with members of other communities. These same teachers report practices that are more similar to their peers. If this results from misperceptions of their own and their colleagues’ expertise, then status inconsistency may not only limit access to instructionl epertise but also mask the need for expertise.

The structural components of the situation of nurses in Hungary

Purpose The purpose of the research is to assess the socioeconomic and sociocultural status of Hungarian nurses. Materials and methods In the research team working at the Department of Social Sciences, the Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, by 2015, the idea surfaced that it would be worthwhile to perform a complex socioeconomic and sociocultural study of this social group. We managed to have a sample representative of educational attainment and residence (N = 682). The survey was conducted with a structured questionnaire of 119 questions, 1,195 items, which was filled out in every county by nurses working in three areas: inpatient care, outpatient care, and general practitioner’s office. Results The analysed data indicate that nurses are recruited from the lower social strata. This background has a definitive impact on their future careers, both in an existential and in a cultural way. Nurses have persistently arrived from the same background in the past decades (Pearson’s R sig = .244), and have attained the same qualifications (Pearson’s R sig = .204). There is a remarkably significant disparity between the perceived real social situation and the desired social situation, which, on the one hand, explains the genesis and nature of social discontent, and on the other hand indicates the difficulties of solving the problem. Only 3.8% of nurses assess their own social prestige similar to that of the doctors’. Conclusions The social position of the nurses shows multidimensional and multileveled status inconsistency. First and foremost, we can find a relatively low ascribed and an adequately low achieved social position. This is coupled with a social self-image that, alluding to different (mainly work-related) factors, holds a significantly higher social status as desired and acceptable.

A multidimensional measure of social origin: theoretical perspectives, operationalization and empirical application in the field of educational inequality research

This article describes the theoretical reasons and empirical operationalization of a multidimensional social origin measure. It is assumed that different parental resources are linked to social inequality through distinct mechanisms. This social origin variable can be used for the analysis of status inconsistencies as well as cumulating and compensating effects of social origin resources on inequality of opportunity. The proposed measure is easy to operationalize and to apply in cross-sectional, longitudinal or cross-national research. A great methodological advantage of the proposed origin measure is that it avoids the problem of multicollinearity that is prevalent in analyses that include various parental resources as separate covariates into a statistical model. To illustrate this social origin measure, we apply it to the field of educational inequality research and use data from the National Educational Panel Study in Germany. However, the approach can be easily generalized to other sociological or economic studies where social inequality is of interest (such as labor market, demographic, political, migration or ethnic research). The illustrative example combines the information of three family resources (parental education, parental class and parental status), but it can be extended to include further family resources such as income or wealth measures.

Theories of reference group and revolution: general theoretical matrix of relative deprivation

The article is an overview of the first stage in the development of relative deprivation theories during the 1940–1970s: theories of reference group and revolution. The concepts of “relative deprivation” and “reference group” appeared in 1949 and 1942, respectively. Further specification of reference group concept statements by H. Hyman, R. Merton, W. Runciman, R. Williams contributed to the formulation of relative deprivation theory. The definition of the forms of reference objects (individual, collective, social category), types of comparisons, essence and functional types of reference groups (comparative, normative, identification, and audience) allowed to describe types of relative deprivation, its essence, content (cognitive and affective), and also it’s levels: individual and group. However, reference group theorists have also identified a lot of problematic issues requiring further scientific development. One such issue, problems of relative deprivation formation, is considered within the framework of the theories of revolution through the analysis of social changes. Within the theories of revolution of the 1960s–1970s two approaches of understanding the essence of relative deprivation have emerged: theories of frustrationaggression (T. Gurr, J. Davies, D. Lerner, I. and R. Feierabends) and status inconsistency (J. Urry, C. Johnson, E. Hoffer). Works of the adherents of the first approach have made it possible to expand the field of relative deprivation study, but also they have become the subject of wide criticism. Focusing on the reference group theory and problems of collective identity research J. Urry’s approach was better integrated into the tradition of relative deprivation studying.

Devoutness to Islam and the Attitudinal Acceptance of Political Violence Among Young Muslims in Germany

This article investigates the links between religious beliefs and capitalist mentalities—namely devoutness to Islam and hierarchic self‐interest (HSI)—and violence‐accepting attitudes among the young Muslim migrant population in Germany. Following a situational perspective, these links are analyzed under different individual conditions structured by (socioeconomic) precariousness and education. Based on framing approaches and concepts from socialization theory, we derive the following hypothesis: The links between religious beliefs and capitalist mentalities and the attitudinal acceptance of violence are stronger among individuals with low levels of education and a precarious economic status (compared to high education/nonprecarious status). The strongest link is expected for a negative status inconsistency (high education/precarious economic status). Structural equation models for data from a random probability sample of 350 Muslims (aged 14–32 years) in Germany indicate that attitudinal acceptance of violence among young Muslims is not predicted by devoutness to Islam but by economic precariousness and by acceptance of capitalist values of the HSI belief system.

Consequences of Positional Inconsistency across Multiple Status Hierarchies in Hollywood

In this study I offer a theoretical basis for conceptualizing multiple status hierarchies and examine how actors react to the inconsistency across their status positions in multiple hierarchies. Viewing status hierarchies as stemming from the intersubjective agreement in a field about what is valued, I argue that pluralistic value systems create multiple status conferral mechanisms in different hierarchies and accord unequal status to the hierarchies themselves. Revisiting the sociological literature on status inconsistency, I suggest that actors’ status positions and their status inconsistency within and across hierarchies will affect their likelihood of engaging in activities aimed at boosting their lagging status. I consider actor’s embeddedness as a contextual factor that constrains behavioral reactions to status inconsistency and facilitates cognitive adjustment to status quo. Using the artistic and commercial status of the Hollywood actors/actresses, I found that status inconsistency leads them to choose films that could potentially raise their lagging status. Moreover, while high-status performers were in general likely to stick to their routines, they were also more reactive to status inconsistency. Also, embeddedness limited their choice of films.

Do leading scientists in emerging countries contribute to knowledge local diffusion?

This research aims to respond to the increasing criticisms on leading scientists in emerging countries: whether they are at the expense of government support to gain high status in academia, but yield limited knowledge diffusion to local firms. Based on our investigation in Chinese nano-technology field during 2001-2011, we found that leading scientists in China less likely engage in knowledge local diffusion, either through licensing patents to firms or through joint research with firm. “Stickiness” of academic status lead to status inconsistency between academia and business sector. Status inconsistency hinders leading scientists’ entry into industry. We also found that government certification and scientists’ international connections have significant moderating effect to attenuate the negative relationship between academic status and knowledge transfer. Accompanied by general status signals (government certification and ties to prominent actors), field-specific status (academic status) can be more tra...

Inter-Cohort Mobility Dynamics in a Deregulated Industry: Social Resources & Status Inconsistency

The paper examines the dynamics of personnel flows from incumbents to entrants after a break in industry regulation. We argue and observe that the time-varying network of personnel mobility between...

From status inconsistency to revisionism: Russian foreign policy after color revolutions

AbstractThis paper delves into the shifts in the foreign policy of Russia, considering what has determined Russia's grand strategy orientation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It also attempts to offer an explanation of why Russia becomes discounted with the ‘constitutive and normative structure’, and how its foreign policy shifted toward the anti-status quo orientation, especially after the color revolutions. The main purpose of this paper is to explain the shift in Russia's foreign policy, from the search for the ‘greatpowerness’ status via different enhancement strategies in light of status quo in the ‘revolutionary decade’, to revisionism after the color revolutions in Commonwealth of Independent States region (2003–2005). To substantiate this, the study uses process-tracing and document analysis to show the changes in Russia's foreign policy. As demonstrated in this paper, power rendered is unable of directing or disinclined to direct its policies toward status quo, due to internal effects of perceived ‘status immobility’ resulting from the failure of several status enhancement strategies. Accordingly, the shift in Russia's foreign policy was a result of changing the Russian perception from status inconsistency to status immobility.

Low income college-educated people: recognition, self-fulfillment and protest

ABSTRACTA new strand of writing in political philosophy deals with the linkage – rather than the tension – between politics of recognition and politics of redistribution. This scholarship usually deals with two-dimensionally subordinated groups (e.g. poor ethnic minorities). In this case study, I explore empirically how such linkages may be manifested in regard to a mismatched status group. Focusing on low-income college-educated people (LICEP), and going beyond the traditional status inconsistency approach, I have explored how LICEP frame their social positioning mostly in terms of self-fulfillment and recognition. This is at odds with LICEP having a pivotal role in social protests globally. Taken together, the findings yield a configuration of a few recognition-redistribution interactions: Low material reward is experienced as misrecognition; LICEP-centered social protests are also about recognition of their lifestyle and are characterized by self-fulfillment potential for this group (i.e. creative environment); and the different modalities of self-fulfillment work as sources for LICEP activists’ biographies. This specific configuration takes us beyond abstract notions of the recognition-redistribution linkage and the double subordination examples.

Status Consistency / Inconsistency of the Status Position of Social Classes

In this article author explains the class inequality in west and east European societies. Also we compare class differences of EU and NEE countries. Summarized evaluation of aggregate social status in the context of the study of social stratification requires a certain type of cumulative assessment of the status and remuneration of a particular individual. But not always score (reward) adequate of social position. Inconsistency social position and evaluation (reward) is described the concept of «status inconsistency». In this paper we describe the social inequality and characteristic of social inequality. The main dimensions of social inequality are economic status, education, professional status and political status. Based on the data comparison we implemented generalizations that describe the differences in the nature of social inequality Western European and Eastern European societies.

The effects of individual status and group performance on network ties among teammates in the National Basketball Association.

For individuals, status is derived both from their personal attributes and the groups with whom they are affiliated. Depending on the performance of their groups, the status of individuals may benefit or suffer from identifying closely with the group. When the group excels, high-status members potentially receive much of the credit and increased status. Conversely, high-status members of underperforming groups potentially suffer disproportionate declines in their status relative to the low-status group members. We therefore predict an interaction between group performance and individual status on the willingness to associate with the group and its members. We test our prediction by examining social media ties among teammates in the National Basketball Association. Specifically, we investigate the “following” ties of teammates on Twitter at the end of the 2014–2015 season. Elections to All-Star games are used to measure the status of players, and team performance is measured by recent success in the postseason playoffs. The results show that compared to high-status players on successful teams, high-status players on underperforming teams are less likely to follow their teammates. This result aligns with research on status inconsistency, suggesting that individuals deemphasize their group affiliation when it jeopardizes their individual status. An additional contribution is the advancement of the probit Social Relations Model for the analysis of binary ties in social networks.

Modern Social Hierarchies and the Spaces between: How Are Subjective Status Inconsistencies Linked to Mental Well-Being?

Higher socioeconomic status is linked to higher mental well-being, but modern individuals inhabit multiple hierarchies and reference groups—and thus well-being may be determined between as much as within socioeconomic statuses. Drawing on proprietary national data collected by Gallup in 2017, I find that inconsistency between one’s perceived standing in society and one’s standing in more local hierarchies based in neighbors or friends is quite common. Individuals with negative status inconsistency (lower perceived status among one’s neighbors or friends relative to society) exhibit diminished mental well-being relative to those without. Relational or interpersonal mechanisms, including lower closeness to others, anomie or social disengagement, and diminished meaning in life, appear to partially or mostly explain how status inconsistencies undermine well-being. However, these relational mechanisms vary in their explanatory importance across types of inconsistencies and types of well-being. Positive and negative status inconsistencies both show links to lower-quality social relations.

Status Inconsistency and Organizational Decision Making

Status Inconsistency and Organizational Decision Making

Employment status and mortality in the context of high and low regional unemployment levels in Belgium (2001-2011): A test of the social norm hypothesis across educational levels.

Because of compositional effects (more highly educated unemployed) and differences in the vulnerability towards the health consequences of unemployment (i.e. disappointment paradox hypothesis and/or status inconsistency for highly educated unemployed), it is argued that indicators of educational attainment need to be included when investigating the social norm of unemployment. Data from the 2001 census linked to register data from 2001–2011 are used, selecting all Belgian employed and unemployed between 30 and 59-year-old at time of the census. Poisson multilevel modelling was used to account for clustering of respondents within sub-districts. For individuals with low education levels, the relative difference in mortality rate ratios between the unemployed and employed is smallest in those regions where aggregate unemployment levels are high. For highly educated, this social norm effect was not found. This study suggest that the social norm effect is stronger for workers with low education levels, while highly educated workers suffer from disappointment and status inconsistency.

Mapping the Post-communist Class Structure: Findings from a New Multidimensional Hungarian Class Survey

In this article, we define a schema for the class structure of Hungary, in which we consider a case for an Eastern-European capitalist system emerging from post-communist societies. Our schema is based on the findings of the Hungarian Class Survey, 2014. Using six measures of Bourdieusian economic, cultural, and social capital and applying the methodology of latent class analysis (LCA), we have constructed a model of eight LCA-based classes: upper class, cultural middle class, affluent middle class, young urban consumers, network-embedded rural workers, young drifters, middle-aged deprived, and the precariat. Hungarian society seems to be quite hierarchical but is also fragmented within the upper and lower strata. Status inconsistency in terms of possessing economic, cultural, and social capital is strongly present even for the middle classes. There is a clear divide in our class model between the upper four and the lower four classes, in terms of vertical and nonvertical aspects of social stratification. We also compare our new multidimensional class typology to the traditional occupation-based one and demonstrate its added value for class analysis in Hungary.

Microfinance and Violence Against Women in Rural Guatemala.

Violence against Women (VaW) has come to be recognized as a serious human rights abuse with important consequences not only for women but for whole societies. Since VaW has several manifestations, it is possible to differentiate among different types of violence. In this article, a broad theoretical framework with different dimensions of gender violence was adapted to a Latin American social and cultural context to measure three out of the five main types of violence: economic violence, emotional psychological violence, and coercive control. The goal of this article is to provide empirical evidence to determine whether access to microfinance services plays a role in reducing VaW. To this end, we designed and performed a cross-sectional study with a treatment and a control group in rural Guatemala. A sample of 883 rural women in the "Altiplano" area of Guatemala (448 women with microfinance services and 435 without) was surveyed from May to November 2012. The results of the bivariate logistic regression showed evidence of association between access to microfinance services and reduction of VaW. After adjusting for covariates, global, economic, and emotional psychological violence maintained a negative and statistically significant association with microfinance, while only coercive control showed no statistical association with microfinance services. Access to microcredits showed a very clear relationship to reducing economic and emotional violence but not coercive control, a factor that may be determined by social and cultural norms. In contrast to Status Inconsistency Theory, which has been tested primarily in Asia, our study of Guatemala showed that increased status and economic independence of women due to their participation in microfinance services reduced VaW.