This article is aimed at clarifying some of the problems in gang definition by examination of the logic of definition. Definitions are considered in terms of various purposes as well as lexical and stipulative definitional types. Methods of stipulative definition that have been tangled together in gang research and theory are identified as analytic definition and synthetic definition, with the latter including correlational, causal, and definition by description. The article examines how various researchers and theorists have fallen into various errors of logic in use of these methods and how gang research and theory might make more consistent progress through clarification of the definitional issues.

Sociological theories of crime and delinquency, emphasizing the etiological importance of social factors, have been characterized by one major deficiency: these theories do not satisfactorily explain why one individual does and another does not succumb to various pressures toward delinquency. This problem suggests that more adequate formulations must somehow take cognizance of personal factors. The persistent failure of sociological theories to deal with a "readiness" or "self" factor was explicitly recognized years ago. At thit time, Reckless called for a reformulation of theories to take account of "differential response" to similar social pressures. ' A recent formulation which appears to incorporate the recognition of a self factor in delinquent behavior is the "neutralization theory" advanced by Sykes and Ma-.* According to their statement, norms are not to be conceived as categorical imperatives but rather as qualified guidelines for a zone of acceptable behavior. The particular norms embodied in law have undergone considerable specification, and these specifications include completely or partially extenuating circumstances as, for example, in the principle of mens reu. Thus, the legal code itself supplies potential rationalizations for violation.Sykes and Matza maintain that much delinquency is based upon such ju~tifications.~ They contend that, while excuses are usually considered to be rationalizations following violation, they might also be viewed as neutralizations which ochr prior to deviant behavior. That is, the actor learns certain excuses or justifications for violation and is therefore able to violate the very norms to which he is at least partially committed. The following major "techniques of neutralization" were spcified: ( 1) th denial of responsibility, (2) the denial of .injury, (3) the denial of the victim, ( 4 ) the condemnation of the condemners, and (5) the appeal to higher loyalties.The research reported here was designed as a preliminary exploration of the neutralization theory, and it must be emphasized that the study provides no complete test. The theory asserts that ( a ) delinquents accept the techniques of neutralization and (b) this acceptance facilitates violation by neutralizing the norms. The present study explores the first assertion. Assessment of the second will require a longitudinal design beyond the limitations of this study. The essential hypothesis was that delinquent boys would accept more justifications for violation of law than would nondelinquent boys. Since there is apparently no single conception of delinquency which satisfies all students of the problem, 22

The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of parents as peer educators disseminating nutrition and child feeding information. Parents of infants aged from birth to three years were trained as peer educators in a face-to-face workshop, and then shared evidence-based child feeding and nutrition information via Facebook, email, and printed resources for six months to peers, family, and social media contacts. Semi-structured telephone or group interviews were conducted after a six-month online and face-to-face peer nutrition intervention period investigating peer educator experiences, barriers, enablers of information dissemination, and the acceptability of the peer educator model. Transcripts from interviews were independently coded by two researchers and thematically analysed. Twenty-eight participants completed the study and were assigned to either group or individual interviews. The cohort consenting to the study were predominantly female, aged between 25 and 34 years, non-indigenous, tertiary educated, and employed or on maternity leave. Dominant themes to emerge from the interviews included that the information was trustworthy, child feeding practice information was considered most helpful, newer parents were the most receptive and family members the least receptive to child feeding and nutrition information, and sharing and receiving information verbally and via social media were preferred over print and email. In conclusion, parents reported positive experiences as peer nutrition educators, and considered it acceptable for sharing evidence-based nutrition information. Further research may determine the impact on diet quality and the food-related behaviours of babies and young children on a population level.

This article evaluates the success of a program using electronic monitoring (EM) as the “front end” of a probation term for drunk drivers during three different program phases lasting over 7 years. The data indicate that EM was implemented with few equipment problems or client complaints and was very cost-effective, with nearly all the clients completing their EM period successfully. There was no evidence of any “add-on” effect, nor was there much evidence of selection bias by gender, age, race, or socioeconomic status. Probation success declined, however, during the post-EM probation period.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. This content downloaded from 140.Social planners have been unable to understand and deal with widespread, apparently "irrational" recalcitrance among the people whose lives they are attempting to "improve," because they hold an essentially rationalistic view of man. Actually, the origin, development and continued survival of many "problem" subcultures can be explained in terms of nonrational responses to environmental circumstances. Drawing on observations of frustration-instigated as distinct from motivation-instigated behavior in Maier's experiments with rats, and on speculations by Toynbee, the author maintains that, to explain, predict and alter the behavior of people in such subcultures, one must recognize the extent to which it reflects that institutionalized nonrational response to frustration which is here termed the "analgesic subculture." The assertion is exemplified by reference to the folk subculture of the Southern Appalachians. DESPITE the presence of a tradition of vigorous dissent and considerable evidence to the contrary, conventional sociology still tends to assume an essentially rationalistic view of man. Reminiscent of the eminently cool and calculating "economic man" of classical economics, the model of modern "sociologic man" is on the order of an almost perfectly programmed android, op-erating in accordance with the dictates of his culture. Any injudicious behavior on his part is typically attributed to "conflicts" or conditions of "anomie" in the cultural program, and only ritualistic lip service is paid to Thomas's (1928:572) early emphasis on the idiosyncratic "definition of the situation," to Wrong's (1961:187-193) more recent criticism of the "over-socialized conception of This content downloaded from 140.