Brendan Maguire
Biographic Data
| ID | 4198324 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Brendan Maguire |
| GIVEN NAMES | Brendan |
| FAMILY NAME | Maguire |
| SIGNATURE | MAGUIRE B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Western Illinois University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 36 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1982 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
American Professional Wrestling: Evolution, Content, and Popular Appeal
Over the past several years, professional wrestling, now referred to as sports entertainment, has become a hugely popular cultural phenomenon. There are several reasons to account for why tens of millions of Americans are attracted to this form of entertainment, but this article centers attention on three allures that stand out: excitement, intrigue, and political incorrectness. Content analysis suggests that these three foci form the core of pro…
Network news coverage of school shootings
School shootings have become a subject of intense national debate. The present study is a content analysis and interpretation of television evening newscast coverage of these crimes. The focus is on ABC, CBS, and NBC nightly newscasts. Findings from this research support two propositions: that the most violent school shootings receive the most media coverage, and that the reporting of school shooting cases on network newscasts reflect the “herd m…
Violence, Morality, and Television Commercials
It is popularly believed that television violence and declining morality are important causes of crime. Nearly all of the research in this area, however, has centered attention on programs, both news and entertainment. Commercials have generally been neglected. The present study sought to remedy this oversight . Findings from a content analysis of 1,699 commercials show that only a very small percentage of commercials contain violence. The findin…
Defining Deviancy Down: A Research Note Regarding Professional Wrestling
In 1993 Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan published an article in which he argued that deviancy has increased to such an extent in American society that, for social control purposes, much deviant behavior has been redefined as "normal." Clearly this thesis implies that a moral devaluation of behavior has occurred in the United States. There has been considerable social commentary on Moynihan's thesis, but little, or no, empirical testing. The prese…
Television Commercial Content: Religion versus Science and Professional Expertise
This paper describes a content analysis in which 902 television commercials were coded for religious symbolism, science and professional expertise. Evidence obtained from this exploratory study is neither definitive nor exhaustive, but it is suggestive and provocative. Data show that religious symbolism is rarely found in television ads, and commercials using science or professional expertise constituted only nine percent of the sample. Apparentl…
The Past, Present, and Future of American Criminal Justice
The Secularization of Religion and Television Commercials
Secularization theory had a privileged status within sociology for many decades. Recently, this theory has been challenged on a number of grounds. Specifically, researchers have argued that religion is not on the wane in modern society, but that it is an increasingly central and influential feature of contemporary social life. Hence, there is a debate within the sociology of religion concerning the viability of secularization theory. Findings fro…
Seat belt laws and traffic fatalities: A research update
For nearly a decade it has been commonly assumed that seat belt laws save lives. Using traffic fatality data from 1983 through 1993 this paper offers evidence to call this assumption into question. For several years traffic fatality rates have been declining in roughly equal proportions in both law states and non-law states. Moreover, the most current data reveals that while seat belt legislation is positively associated with increased safety bel…
The status of sociology departments: An assessment of their current and future prospects
This paper examines the present and future status of sociology departments in the United States. An assessment is provided of both positive developments and problems experienced by departments and the discipline in general. Issues examined include student enrollment and degree recipients over the last two decades, enrollment trends in other disciplines, recent trends in advertised sociology faculty positions, the status of women and minorities, a…
The Illinois Seat Belt Law: A Sociology of Law Analysis
Guilt Feelings and Crime
This paper takes a theoretical approach to one aspect of a practical problem: Why is there so much crime? While this has been a much researched question, most commentaries have not treated explicitly or extensively the phenomenon of guilt feelings. The present paper offers a critique of the relationship between criminal behavior and subjective feelings of guilt Specifically, two points are argued herein: (1) that many if not most people are not n…
The applied dimension of radical criminology: A survey of prominent radical criminologists
Radical criminology is known mostly for its theoretical focus. Though less attended to, there is a practical side to the perspective. With this in mind, the present study is a preliminary effort to delineate radical criminology's applied program as revealed through responses to a survey of prominent radical criminologists. Findings suggest that the future prospects for radical criminal justice policies are better than is commonly assumed. In part…
Racial and ethnic stereotypes in professional wrestling
Wrestling burst into the mainstream of television entertainment and sports in recent years. A distinctive feature is the obstrusive use of racial and ethnic stereotypes. Synthesizing insights from cultural anthropology, phenomenological sociology, and Marxist theory, the psychoanalytic tradition, this article proposes a theoretical explanation of why the stereotypes are so marketable
Reply to Vernon
Interpretive Sociology: The Diseased Theoretical Perspective
The house of refuge movement: Humanitarian gesture or simple exploitation
The 1800s marked the early development of a new approach to child welfare in the United States. Beginning with the house of refuge movement (1820s) and culminating with the creation of the juvenile court (1899), this developmental period has been traditionally praised as an age of humanitarian reform. Sociological research has suggested, however, that the creation of the juvenile court served mainly as a new form of social control designed to pro…
Network news coverage of school shootings
School shootings have become a subject of intense national debate. The present study is a content analysis and interpretation of television evening newscast coverage of these crimes. The focus is on ABC, CBS, and NBC nightly newscasts. Findings from this research support two propositions: that the most violent school shootings receive the most media coverage, and that the reporting of school shooting cases on network newscasts reflect the “herd m…
Racial and ethnic stereotypes in professional wrestling
Wrestling burst into the mainstream of television entertainment and sports in recent years. A distinctive feature is the obstrusive use of racial and ethnic stereotypes. Synthesizing insights from cultural anthropology, phenomenological sociology, and Marxist theory, the psychoanalytic tradition, this article proposes a theoretical explanation of why the stereotypes are so marketable
Defining Deviancy Down: A Research Note Regarding Professional Wrestling
In 1993 Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan published an article in which he argued that deviancy has increased to such an extent in American society that, for social control purposes, much deviant behavior has been redefined as "normal." Clearly this thesis implies that a moral devaluation of behavior has occurred in the United States. There has been considerable social commentary on Moynihan's thesis, but little, or no, empirical testing. The prese…
The status of sociology departments: An assessment of their current and future prospects
This paper examines the present and future status of sociology departments in the United States. An assessment is provided of both positive developments and problems experienced by departments and the discipline in general. Issues examined include student enrollment and degree recipients over the last two decades, enrollment trends in other disciplines, recent trends in advertised sociology faculty positions, the status of women and minorities, a…
American Professional Wrestling: Evolution, Content, and Popular Appeal
Over the past several years, professional wrestling, now referred to as sports entertainment, has become a hugely popular cultural phenomenon. There are several reasons to account for why tens of millions of Americans are attracted to this form of entertainment, but this article centers attention on three allures that stand out: excitement, intrigue, and political incorrectness. Content analysis suggests that these three foci form the core of pro…
Seat belt laws and traffic fatalities: A research update
For nearly a decade it has been commonly assumed that seat belt laws save lives. Using traffic fatality data from 1983 through 1993 this paper offers evidence to call this assumption into question. For several years traffic fatality rates have been declining in roughly equal proportions in both law states and non-law states. Moreover, the most current data reveals that while seat belt legislation is positively associated with increased safety bel…
Interpretive Sociology: The Diseased Theoretical Perspective
Violence, Morality, and Television Commercials
It is popularly believed that television violence and declining morality are important causes of crime. Nearly all of the research in this area, however, has centered attention on programs, both news and entertainment. Commercials have generally been neglected. The present study sought to remedy this oversight . Findings from a content analysis of 1,699 commercials show that only a very small percentage of commercials contain violence. The findin…
Television Commercial Content: Religion versus Science and Professional Expertise
This paper describes a content analysis in which 902 television commercials were coded for religious symbolism, science and professional expertise. Evidence obtained from this exploratory study is neither definitive nor exhaustive, but it is suggestive and provocative. Data show that religious symbolism is rarely found in television ads, and commercials using science or professional expertise constituted only nine percent of the sample. Apparentl…
The applied dimension of radical criminology: A survey of prominent radical criminologists
Radical criminology is known mostly for its theoretical focus. Though less attended to, there is a practical side to the perspective. With this in mind, the present study is a preliminary effort to delineate radical criminology's applied program as revealed through responses to a survey of prominent radical criminologists. Findings suggest that the future prospects for radical criminal justice policies are better than is commonly assumed. In part…
The house of refuge movement: Humanitarian gesture or simple exploitation
The 1800s marked the early development of a new approach to child welfare in the United States. Beginning with the house of refuge movement (1820s) and culminating with the creation of the juvenile court (1899), this developmental period has been traditionally praised as an age of humanitarian reform. Sociological research has suggested, however, that the creation of the juvenile court served mainly as a new form of social control designed to pro…
Interpretive Sociology: The Diseased Theoretical Perspective
Reply to Vernon
Racial and ethnic stereotypes in professional wrestling
Wrestling burst into the mainstream of television entertainment and sports in recent years. A distinctive feature is the obstrusive use of racial and ethnic stereotypes. Synthesizing insights from cultural anthropology, phenomenological sociology, and Marxist theory, the psychoanalytic tradition, this article proposes a theoretical explanation of why the stereotypes are so marketable
Guilt Feelings and Crime
This paper takes a theoretical approach to one aspect of a practical problem: Why is there so much crime? While this has been a much researched question, most commentaries have not treated explicitly or extensively the phenomenon of guilt feelings. The present paper offers a critique of the relationship between criminal behavior and subjective feelings of guilt Specifically, two points are argued herein: (1) that many if not most people are not n…
The applied dimension of radical criminology: A survey of prominent radical criminologists
Radical criminology is known mostly for its theoretical focus. Though less attended to, there is a practical side to the perspective. With this in mind, the present study is a preliminary effort to delineate radical criminology's applied program as revealed through responses to a survey of prominent radical criminologists. Findings suggest that the future prospects for radical criminal justice policies are better than is commonly assumed. In part…
The Illinois Seat Belt Law: A Sociology of Law Analysis
The status of sociology departments: An assessment of their current and future prospects
This paper examines the present and future status of sociology departments in the United States. An assessment is provided of both positive developments and problems experienced by departments and the discipline in general. Issues examined include student enrollment and degree recipients over the last two decades, enrollment trends in other disciplines, recent trends in advertised sociology faculty positions, the status of women and minorities, a…
Seat belt laws and traffic fatalities: A research update
For nearly a decade it has been commonly assumed that seat belt laws save lives. Using traffic fatality data from 1983 through 1993 this paper offers evidence to call this assumption into question. For several years traffic fatality rates have been declining in roughly equal proportions in both law states and non-law states. Moreover, the most current data reveals that while seat belt legislation is positively associated with increased safety bel…
The Past, Present, and Future of American Criminal Justice
The Secularization of Religion and Television Commercials
Secularization theory had a privileged status within sociology for many decades. Recently, this theory has been challenged on a number of grounds. Specifically, researchers have argued that religion is not on the wane in modern society, but that it is an increasingly central and influential feature of contemporary social life. Hence, there is a debate within the sociology of religion concerning the viability of secularization theory. Findings fro…
Television Commercial Content: Religion versus Science and Professional Expertise
This paper describes a content analysis in which 902 television commercials were coded for religious symbolism, science and professional expertise. Evidence obtained from this exploratory study is neither definitive nor exhaustive, but it is suggestive and provocative. Data show that religious symbolism is rarely found in television ads, and commercials using science or professional expertise constituted only nine percent of the sample. Apparentl…
Violence, Morality, and Television Commercials
It is popularly believed that television violence and declining morality are important causes of crime. Nearly all of the research in this area, however, has centered attention on programs, both news and entertainment. Commercials have generally been neglected. The present study sought to remedy this oversight . Findings from a content analysis of 1,699 commercials show that only a very small percentage of commercials contain violence. The findin…
Defining Deviancy Down: A Research Note Regarding Professional Wrestling
In 1993 Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan published an article in which he argued that deviancy has increased to such an extent in American society that, for social control purposes, much deviant behavior has been redefined as "normal." Clearly this thesis implies that a moral devaluation of behavior has occurred in the United States. There has been considerable social commentary on Moynihan's thesis, but little, or no, empirical testing. The prese…
Network news coverage of school shootings
School shootings have become a subject of intense national debate. The present study is a content analysis and interpretation of television evening newscast coverage of these crimes. The focus is on ABC, CBS, and NBC nightly newscasts. Findings from this research support two propositions: that the most violent school shootings receive the most media coverage, and that the reporting of school shooting cases on network newscasts reflect the “herd m…
American Professional Wrestling: Evolution, Content, and Popular Appeal
Over the past several years, professional wrestling, now referred to as sports entertainment, has become a hugely popular cultural phenomenon. There are several reasons to account for why tens of millions of Americans are attracted to this form of entertainment, but this article centers attention on three allures that stand out: excitement, intrigue, and political incorrectness. Content analysis suggests that these three foci form the core of pro…
Sociology (14 works) · Political science (11 works) · Criminology (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Social science (7 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works)