Problems & Prospects Revisited: Bursik’s Mark on Chicago‐Style Criminology

It has been 20 years since Robert J. Bursik Jr. published his seminal article outlining some of the problems and prospects in the social disorganization perspective on crime and delinquency. In this study, we review the content of approximately 200 published articles that cite Bursik’s 1988 piece. These studies are systematically examined in terms of their efforts to overcome the problems and pursue the prospects that Bursik outlined. In addition to content analysis, we survey the authors who cite this work. That is, we gather data from the authors directly to assess the influence of Bursik’s article on their own published work. Our research finds that Bursik’s work played a significant role in the revitalization and expansion of social disorganization theory.     

Fixed or flexible schedule? Schedule impacts and school library circulation

Despite more than 15 years of research into the implementation of flexible access to school library media programs in the United States, few empirical studies exist that examine the relationship between access scheduling and school library media circulation. This quantitative study examines the relationship between types of school library schedules and circulation. Examination of end-of-year circulation statistics for fixed, flexible, and partially flexible elementary school library media centers in North Carolina and Virginia indicate that there was a significant and positive relationship between flexible scheduling and per-pupil book circulation in elementary schools in these two states.     

The Socialization of Emotion: Learning Emotion Management at the Fire Station

In a variety of fields, particularly human service occupations, the management of emotion is a precondition of employee and client well being. Based on qualitative data from participant observation and interviews, this study examines how firefighters are socialized to manage feelings and emotional displays. It concludes that firefighters recognized a need to manage their own emotions and those of their clients in order to deliver adequate service. Veteran firefighters facilitated the use of emotion labor techniques among newcomers by considering the emotion management knowledge and capabilities of job candidates during employee selection processes, providing habituated emotional events, and reinforcing customer service expectations. Newcomers actively participated in their own socialization to local emotion expectations through observational information seeking, retrospective surveillance, and performance of a normative newcomer role demeanor. The article concludes by offering practical and theoretical implications.     

From absent to active voices: securing disability equality within higher education

This article discusses the representation and participation of disabled students in the development of higher education policy and provision within the UK, at both a national and institutional level. Findings are drawn from a doctoral study, which identified the importance of student participation in securing equality and inclusion. Power relationships and established boundaries are explored to ascertain how vocal disabled students are in these processes. Questions are addressed in terms of the genuineness and effectiveness of participatory approaches, identifying those barriers that are likely to impede the process. These include the influence of dominant ideology, professional expertise and attitudes towards the capability of disabled students. All are important when considering the increased rights of disabled people.