Topics: Immigration Controversy, Assimilation, Mold Controversy, Urbanization and Crime, Real Estate Fraud
I am a Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Ohio State University, where I spent most of my career in research and teaching. I have authored or co-authored nearly 100 publications, including 14 books and dozens of research papers in professional journals. My specialty is social organization, and most of my work has focused on education.
After early retirement from the university, I worked for several years as a research administrator for an independent research firm in California. Since retiring from those positions, I have had time to reflect and review literature on a variety of topics. My most recent book, on school choice, was published in 2005 and republished in paperback in 2007.
For further information on my background, please see the My Resume' page.
This website provides access to my recent papers on the following social issues:
Immigration: The Assimilation Myth[Click on "Illegal Immigration"]
Contradictory claims about the incendiary topic of immigration prompted me to examine available sources with an open mind, in search of the near truth. My conclusions are still tentative, but some things are clear. In particular, certain writers smugly counsel us that that “we are all immigrants,” with the unmistakable implication that current waves of Hispanic immigration are similar to earlier waves of newcomers from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean who arrived during periods of rapid industrialization and unionization. But this simplistic extrapolation is deceiving. No nation has ever attempted to absorb more than 30 million newcomers. Up to a third of them are in the U.S. illegally and are responsible for a substantial number of identity thefts every year. The huge influx from a relatively few countries creates a critical mass, which in turn promotes linguistic and cultural isolation.
Yes, there is some evidence that small cohorts of Hispanics who arrived generations ago have assimilated; but their experience has little bearing on the present, as millions of low-income, poorly educated, unskilled Mexican immigrants continuously stream into California and other border states. It is only a matter of time before the demand for such workers dries up, and even if it does not, their real wages are already declining. They seem fated to work throughout their lifetimes for sub-standard wages, often without health insurance, and vulnerable to various sources of exploitation. Even if immigration came to a halt today, these new arrivals could not anticipate reaching parity until mid century. Realistically, it will take much longer. In effect, the nation has a new underclass. It can only deepen the class divide and hurt black citizens and other minorities who are already at the bottom.
Urbanization and Crime Rates in Two Growing Cities[Click on "Crime and Urbanization"]
This paper summarizes the numbers of crimes and crime rates per 1,000 residents in two small cities located in the Inland Empire area of California: Beaumont (2008 population 34,268) and Banning (2008 population 29,816). These communities are of interest not only in themselves but also because as growing cities,they illustrate some of the prospects and challenges that small cities experience with rapid urbanization.
In 2006, Beaumont was the fastest growing city in the state of California, growing at least 21% that year, and the growth spurt accelerated even more in 2007. Between 2001 and 2008, Beaumont grew by nearly 200 percent, while Banning’s population also increased about 25 percent. The cities border one another and are located in the San Gorgonio pass area, between Riverside and Palm Springs. Because of their overlapping boundaries and mutually shared, close-by services and commercial establishments, from the standpoint of the residents, they constitute a single community.However this analysis also breaks out the two cities because they have different histories, populations, and economies.
Between 2001 and 2007, as the population in the area exploded by 70%, the number of crimes reported in the two cities combined also soared 46%. But this looseconnection between population growth and crime did not occur uniformly in the two cities. Banning reported more crimes during this period, including nearly three times more aggravated assaults, 2.5 times more burglaries and twice the number of robberies and rapes, and 27% more vehicle thefts. However, crime accelerated faster in Beaumont, rising 56% between 2001 and 2007 (compared 40% in Banning). In Beaumont, the volume of crime tended to follow annual increases in the population, some years lagging behind and other years out-pacing growth. But in Banning, where population grew much more slowly, the number of crimes raced ahead of population by 2 to 1.
Crime rates per 1,000 residents (distinguished from the sheer number of crimes) displayed a different pattern. In recent years, they have been trending downward in both cities. However, in Banning there have been notable exceptions to this pattern, and in any case, Banning's crime rates remain relatively high. In particular, robbery rates have not declined there and vehicle theft rates have gone up. Larceny is the most prevelent crime in both cities. Beaumont's larceny rate peaked in 2005 and has been sharply declining since. Banning's larceny rate dropped in 2007 after a spike in 2005, but it remains high. Burglary and assault have trended downward in both cities in recent years, but Banning's rates remain high. In 2007, the likelihood of being assaulted was about five times higher in Banning than in Beaumont.
The likelihood of becoming a victim of crime in Banning is higher than in several much larger near-by cities, although it depends on the type of crime. In particular, the risk of being victimized in Banning is much higher for some types of violent crimes than for property crimes. The violent crime rate in Banning is over three times Beaumont and it exceeds Los Angeles, Riverside, a half dozen other near-by cities. The aggravated assault rate in Banning is also high compared to most of the other cities included in the analysis, and its robbery rate is double Beaumont's and higher than several other cities. On the other hand, both cities have among the lowest property crime rates in the region.
Realtor Fraud Cover-up: The Real Estate Disciplinary Hearing Charade[Click on "Realtor Fraud "]
My experience demonstrates that California’s procedure for filing complaints against realtors is ineffectual and unfair to complainants. This paper explains why and advocates several needed changes. All members of disciplinary hearing panels are realtors; non realtors are not included anywhere in the process. Those who pass judgment are protective of their occupation and must continue to conduct business with the accused after the hearing is over. Moreover, panel members are accountable to no one outside their closed society. There is no external oversight or systematic review of disciplinary actions. And not even summary statistics of actions brought against realtors are published anywhere.
The California Attorney General’s office acknowledges that its role is to defend state agencies, including the California Real Estate Department. Consumers can turn to the AG for other types of complaints, but they might not find much help there with real estate fraud. The complaint I originally filed with the Real Estate Department was completely ignored. Only after I complained to the Governor's office did the Department re-assign my case to a regional office, which did eventually conduct a conscientious investigation. The realtor's complaint process is a thinly disguised vehicle designed to cover up the mistakes of errant realtors and silence their critics. With the possible exception of realtors who have been suspended or expelled from an association, the public has no way to identify realtors who have been the subject of complaints—even realtors who have been reprimanded or fined. Once they have been let off by their comrades, all evidence of the complaint is expunged from the record. Moreover, except in extreme cases involving suspension or expulsion, all findings, recommendations and decisions related to a disciplinary hearing are hidden behind confidential agreements. This code of secrecy extends to all parties to the proceedings. Thus, unless a wrong-doer has been suspended or expelled, he or she actually stands to benefit from the disciplinary process, since it serves to silence complainants who otherwise would remain free to express their grievances.
Sociological Issues Relating to Mold: The Mold Wars [Click on "Mold Wars"
There are abundant reasons for believing that exposure to some types of mold is positively linked to human disease, even though the causal chains cannot be fully explained. Yet, mold advocates and other skeptics—among them some prominent scientists and health officials, as well as steadfast special interests—continue to question that there is a scientifically proven link between mold and illness, or at least serious illness, in otherwise healthy people. Some illnesses are being dismissed because they do not affect most people—“only” about 50-60 million. Apparently persuaded by some critics who are labeling research on mold “junk science,” some courts are requiring mold victims to meet unrealistic or non existent standards of proof. Science is being misused, misconstrued, or simply misunderstood, and the realities involved in applying it to mold cases are being blithely ignored. As a result, some mold victims are being denied evenhanded justice. Complicit courts must now decide whether to risk the error of treating potentially dangerous mold as benign, or treating potentially benign mold as dangerous.
In this paper, you will find a story about scientific uncertainty and contests among researchers for methodological dominance. You will discern conflicts of interest, bias, political pressures, and wrangling over the validity of different kinds of legal proof. Then you will see that the outcomes of law suits have been random and learn about a recent backlash against mold victims. And finally, you will discover that the biggest allergic reaction of all is coming from business interests standing to lose billions of dollars from mold suits.
SEE MY OTHER WEBSITE ON SELECTED PROFESSIONAL TOPICS (type addresses in your BROWSER, not the search bar):
I am a Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Ohio State University, where I spent most of my career in research and teaching. I have authored or co-authored nearly 100 publications, including 14 books and dozens of research papers in professional journals. My specialty is social organization, and most of my work has focused on education.