Age, sex, and occupational characteristics of visitorsat the Tucson Red Cross Blood Bank for the year 1951

Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)

Authors Waugh, Robert Edeson, 1918-

Publisher The University of Arizona.

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AGE, SEX, AM) OCCUPaTIGlwiL CHARACTERISTICS OF VISITORS AT THE TUCSON RED CROSS BLOOD BANK FOR THE YEaR 1951

by

R obert Waugh

A T hesis

subm itted to th e f a c u l ty o f th e

D epartm ent of S ocio logy

in p a r t i a l f u l f i l lm e n t o f th e requ irem en ts fo r th e degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

in th e G raduate C o lle g e , U n iv e rs ity of Arizona

1952

Approved a ‘D ire c to r o f T h esis Date

i i

T his th e s i s has been subm itted in p a r t i a l f u l f i l lm e n t of r e q u ir e ­

ments fo r an advanced degree a t th e U n iv e rs ity o f A rizona and is

d e p o sited in th e L ib ra ry to be made a v a ila b le to borrow ers under

ru le s o f th e L ib ra ry . B r ie f q u o ta tio n s from t h i s th e s i s are

a llow ab le w ith o u t s p e c ia l p e rm iss io n , provided t h a t a ccu ra te

acknowledgment o f source i s made. R equests fo r p e rm iss io n f o r

extended q u o ta tio n from o r re p ro d u c tio n o f t h i s m anuscrip t in

whole o r in p a r t may be g ran ted by th e head of th e m ajor departm ent

o r th e dean of th e G raduate C ollege when in t h e i r judgment th e

proposed use of th e m a te r ia l i s in th e i n t e r e s t s of s c h o la rs h ip .

In a l l o th e r in s ta n c e s , however, p e rm iss io n must be ob ta ined from

the a u th o r .

SIGNED:

Table of Contents

i l l

1. Introduction — The Problem Stated . . . ♦ Page 1

2 . Chapter I — Age and Sex Grades . . . . 14

Chapter II — Occupations . . . . . . 26

4 . Chapter III — Change . . . . . . . 4$

5* Chapter IV — Dependability . . . . . . 55

6 . Chapte r V — Summary . . . . . . . 60

7 • Appendix . . . . . . . . . 67

8 . Bibliography . . . . . . . . . 70

Tables

I . Total V isitors and Total Population by Age Groups 16

I I . Total V isitors by Per cent of Total Age Group Population 17

I I I . Male and Female V isitors by Age Groups 20

IV. Male and Female V isitors by Age Groups ( in per cent) 21

V. Total V isitors and Total Population by Occupational Categories JO

VI. Total V isits by Per cent of Occupational Categories J1

VII. General Characteristics of Occupational Categories J2

V III. Total V is its by Professional Occupation j6

IX. V isits and Population of Occupational Categories by Sex 57

X. V is its and Population of Categories by Sex ( in perocent) 59

XI. Total V isitors by Months 44

XII. Monthly V is its by Sex 46

X III. Monthly Response Ranked According to Sex 46.

P lates

I . A ll V isitors by Age Groups 18

I I . Female V isitors by Age Groups 2$

I I I . Male V isitors by Age Groups 24

IV. Age Groups F irst Quarter 49

V. Age Groups Second Quarter 50

VI. Age Groups Third Quarter 51

VII. Age Groups Fourth Quarter 5^

VIII. V isitors by Age Groups 58

Samples of Materials Used

1. Medical History Card 7,

2 . I . B. M. Card 12

iv

1

Introduction

The problem with which th is paper is primarily concerned can be --

brought into quick focus by the question* What, i f any, are the

characteristics peculiar to blood donors th a t, in so far as the basic

socio log ica l d ifferen tia ls of age, sex, occupations, e t cetera are .

concerned, tend to d istinguish these donors from the population as.a

whole? And th is question, in turn, lo g ica lly raises another* I f there

are certain distinguishing characteristics of blood donors, of what

use is such knowledge?

To deal with the la tte r question f i r s t , there is the pressing need

for th is knowledge in the current Blood For Defense program sponsored

by the Federal C iv il Defense Administration. I f i t can be shown that

certain age, sex, and occupational groups respond to appeals for blood

more readily than do other groups of the same categories, then a founda­

tio n has been laid for further stu d ies, the accumulation of which.can

resu lt in certain predictions relative to donor and non-donor groups.

Moreover, in the event of catastrophe, such as atomic warfare, when i t

w ill be necessary to recruit the maximum number of blood donors in the

le a s t possible time, information about an 11 ideal donor" may be of the

greatest sign ifican ce. Consequently, a foundation study, such as th is

paper lays claim to being, plus further work based on the obtained

information, can eventually supply the data necessary to fu lly describe

th is ideal target.

2

A second use of knowledge about blood donors, apart from defense,

i s suggested by the increasing need for blood in modern surgery and in

the making of certain vaccines, such as gamma globulin .to combat polio­

m y elitis .

This information might also be applied to a situ ation that has long

puzzled the amateur organizer who suddenly finds him self appointed to

the job of planning and executing one of the many types of community

drives for money, or for old clo th es, personal serv ices, food bundles,

or whatever e lse the community may have need of at the moment. B riefly

stated, th is new d irector's problem i s : What kind of people w ill I be

dealing with? What kind of people donate the most money or services or

old clothes? — and by "kind of people" the amateur usually means: What

are the socio log ica l d iffe re n tia ls of age and sex grades, i f any, occu­

pation, socia l status, economic statu s, ecological se ttin g , to name but

a few of the more important ones that set th is majority giver o ff from

the great body of h is fellow citizens?

Professional organizations and th e ir planners, whose job is to

d irect and execute moneyed drives for p ro fit, know fa ir ly accurately

and well in advance of any drive what the "ideal target" for that drive's

propoganda w ill be — that i s , the professional can be depended upon

to know what the most lik e ly g iver's sex, age, occupation, favorite

liv in g location within the c ity , church preference, and other status

are. But since the future of the professional's highly competitive

business largely depends upon the accumulation of such knowledge, and

the superiority of i t , he is usually noted for keeping th is information

3

to him self. On the other hand, the amateur and h is non-profit.organi­

sation as a rule have no such advance information. With few notable

exceptions (where community drives are organized around ex istin g ward

p o lit ic a l organizations), amateur organizers start out blind, so to

speak, and proceed in that fashion, te l l in g th eir volunteers to catch

as catch can and hoping for the best. Usually they keep no records on

such things as age, sex and occupational d iffe r e n tia ls , and so forth ,

and the next month or the next year a new chairman and organization

start out again, trusting to luck or Providence as before, meeting the

community's goal or not meeting i t , as the case may be. Surprisingly

enough, th is trust-to-luck-or-Providence theme seems to predominate

even among Red Cross, Community Chest and other sim ilar organizations

in many — perhaps in the majority — of larger urban places, to say

nothing of the smaller communities scattered throughout the country.

Connected with th is method of h it and miss are b e lie fs bordering

upon superstition that certa in groups universally contribute more or

le s s than other groups. Some people seem to think that only the very

rich contribute out of proportion to th e ir numbersj others claim th is

attribute for professional people; others, for the very poor; and so

forth . A shot-gun survey of occupations, and probable wealth deduced

from occupational incomes,^ might throw some lig h t on th is problem.

But there is s t i l l the problem of the "kind of people" — that i s , the

givers — apart from th eir occupational and deduced economic status to

be considered, plus the method of finding and examining the proposed 1

1. See Introduction, p. S , for method of deduction.

4

“givers'1 that has been used in th is survey.

The store of socio log ica l data which is the commercial 'property

of professional organizations has already been referred to , as well as

the fact that th is information is not available to the amateur or non-2

p rofit organization, except at a prohibitive price. And i t has already

been pointed out that few amateur organizations have accumulated any

knowledge of th is sort or even thinking about doing so . Is there then

a source of soc io log ica l information open to local amateur drives which

may be helpful to these amateurs in focusing th e ir ta len ts on the most

lik e ly contributor of the community— that i s , on the “kind of person0

most lik e ly to donate something? I t is the contention of th is paper

that there i s , the contention being an assumption that blood ( l i t e r a l ly

a pint of i t ) is harder or at lea st as hard to get from people as money,

volunteer workers, old c lo th es, food bundles. The assumption pending

for the moment, we believe th is information can be found on the Medical

History Oard(s) of blood donors v is it in g any of the Regional Red Gross5

Blood Banks, the mobile un its of those Banks, or on sim ilar medical

history cards on f i l e at any of the mazy privately operated a f f i l ia te s

of the Red Cross blood for defense program.^ 2 * 4

2 . Most professional organizations accept nothing less than 1-m il- lion -dollar drives, with 10 per cent of gross as th e ir share. Above 16- mil lion-do l ia r le v e l, the professional's per cent of gross a minimum 7i>

J. Red Cross Blood Centers operate in many c it ie s throughout the country, while th e ir privately operated a f f i l ia te s are located in a l l sta tes and in nearly a l l urban areas.

4 . For other than age, sex and occupational characteristics of the “kind of person" in question, see Appendix C_*

5

In the analogy of money and other types of donations, and blood

donations, the following evidence — in addition to a common-sense

judgment — can be offered in support of the assumption that blood is

as hard to get as money, and that people giving the one, blood, are

very lik e ly to give the other, money e t a l .

To check th is , two groups of people, to ta llin g 200 to the group,

were interviewed, as follows*

The f i r s t group. Group A, consisted of 100 money contributors to

the Red Cross who held receipts for such donations during the drive of

the calendar year lp $ l, and 100 sim ilar donors who contributed to th e ir

Community Chest during the same period. Of these 200 money contributors,

selected from a l l socioeconomic categories, only 7 donated blood for

either c iv ic needs or for the needs of the Korean co n flic t during the

year under discussion , 19$1, for a to ta l of 5*5 P61* cent of the sample.

We then interviewed 200 v is ito r s at the lo ca l Red Cross Blood

Center who were in the process of donating blood for either c iv ic or

Korean needs.^ Of th is group, Group B, 18$ had contributed money to the

Red Cross funds drive for 19$1, for a to ta l of 91.$ per cent, while 191 *

$ . People frequently v i s i t the blood bank to donate blood for family members, friends, for any sp ec ific person, or to repay blood so used. This motivation can be considered as a se lf ish one, since the v is ito r under these conditions is donating blood to some particular person of close family or so c ia l t i e s . As such, the motivation seems to be nearly opposite that which is expressed by people whoidonatecblood for c iv ic or Korean purposes— who donate to benefit to ta lly strange, unknown, unseen fellow men and women of a ll colors and b e l ie f s . Conse­quently, the former, or s e lf is h type of donor was not included in the sample for the obvious reason of motivation. Also see p. $ f f for the "captive audience11 exclusion from the above sample.

6

had contributed to th eir Community Cheat drive of that year, totalling^

95*5 per cent.

Group A (200 money donors) donated 7 pints of blood for a to ta l

of J.5 per cent.

Group B (200 blood donors) donated money in proportions of 9I.3£

and 95*5 percent (as compared with 3*5 per cent above).

Next, the question as to the nature of the data on the Medical

History Card arises — that i s , the question as to i t s relevancy,

completeness, accuracy, as well as the ju s t if ic a tio n for i t s use here.

This becomes a general question of method, and one that should conse­

quently be discussed in d e ta il so that sim ilar methods, i f a community

should be interested in them, can be employed — so that data of the

proposed type can be of community use in money drives or any of the

various other ones.^

There is the data i t s e l f as i t appears on Medical History Card(s)

in use throughout the United States by the Red Cross and i t s privately

operated a f f i l ia te s (see sample Medical History Card, page? )• I t w ill

be noted that in addition to the donor's name, h is telephone number i f

any, there is the donor's address ( rechecked each time he enters the

6. Let i t be admitted here that the analogy has by no means been proven by the evidence presented here. However, i t should be kept in mind that the purpose of a basic survey study is one of exploration as w ell as discovery, to raise questions as well as to answer them. For further evidence see Appendix C.

7* The equipment used in the study — I.B.M. key punch, cards, and sorter — should be available in a l l but the sm allest communities.

BLOOD DONOR REGISTRATION C A R D - cmultiple)NAME (Surname first! ADDRESS

TELEPHONE OCCUPATION WHERE EMPLOYED

CHAPTER • ; OPERATION PLACE

O R.C. E H M.U. N o------DATE OF BIRTH VISIT

f ITEM | DATE OF D O N A T IO N

BLOOD GROUP

D m D f I D FIRST Q OTHER IQ A □

HIGH TITER GR. O

□ « D o I D T - □ ' a n

W HOLE BLOOD NUMBER (Paste in spaces to right for each

donation.)

VOLUME IN C C

AGE LAST BIRTHDAY

W EIGHT

TEMPERATURE

PULSE

BLOOD PRESSURE

NO NO N O N O

Hemoglobin Sollsfoctory?

Blood Transfusion Received Within 6 Months?

Illness in lost Month?

Surgical Operation Within 6 Months?

Pregnant Within Post Year?

Malaria t)r Antlmoloriol Drugs?

Tuberculosis?

Diabetes?

Undulont or Prolonged Fevers?

Rheumatic Fever?

Skim Eczem a, D e rm a titis , B o lls , Etc.?

Any Form of Heart Trouble?

Kidney Disease?

Persistent Cough?

Pain In Chest?

Shortness of Breath?

F a in tin g Spells?

Convulsions?

Jaundice?

Jaundice Contact Within 6 Months?

Allergy* Hives, Sensitivity to Foods?

Asthma or Wheezing?

Hoy Fever Now?

Immunization or Injection Within 2 Weeks?

Hazardous Occupation?

Accepted?

Successful Bleeding?

Reaction?

RELEASE

(Signature of donor must appear for each donation.)

In making a voluntary donation of blood to the American National Red Cross for civilian or military use in such way as the American National Red Cross deems advisable, I release and discharge the American National Red Cross, its officers and agents, physicians, technicians, nurses, and others connected therewith from all claims or damages whatsoever that I or my representatives have or may have against it or any of them by reason of any cause arising out of or incident to such donation of blood.

SIGNATURE OF D O N O R

REMARKS

SIGNATURES OF NURSES

SIGNATURE OF PHYSICIAN

AMERICAN RED CROSS FORM 4574M (12-511

8

Blood Bank), h is age, sex, present occupation (sim ilarly checked), the

date of h is donations, or rejections, as the case may be, the to ta l

number of h is v is i t s and the dates of each, plus certain other informa­

tion which w ill be discussed la ter . From the donor1s occupation i t is

a fa ir ly simple task to translate him into an approximate economic

group through wages earned. The individual's geographical location

within the community is kept current, as he is frequently contacted for

further donations, and th is address can bring further focus upon the

individual's probable so c ia l, as w ell as economic, sta tu s. Moreover,

i f such a method appears to sim plify matters of donations in a parti­

cular locale —- or i f one is interested in the giving habits of certain

socioeconomic groups — these two factors of income and ecological se t­

ting can be combined and weighted for a measurement of "class* giving9 ■hab its. S t i l l more can be learned about an individual in terms of age,

sex, where employed, and so forth , a l l of which sh a ll be treated in

d eta il as the data concerns the survey.

However, before proceeding to the method of co llectin g and trans­

la tin g the information, something ought to be said about the problem

that the block for occupation creates — that i s , the individual's 8 9

8. For an example of how th is is done, see Hours and Earnings, Industry Report, U. S . Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor S ta t is t ic s , Washington 25, D. 0 . , issued monthy. Or see sim ilar material on state leve ls to be found at any state employment o ff ic e .

9 . There are several ways of weighting these two factors. For one of these, see Warner and A ssociates, Democracy in J o n esv ille . Chapter 5, Harper So Bros., Hew York City, 19^9•

9

occupation and location of h is employment as th is is lis ted on the

Medical History Card. I t i s known, for example, that many workers are

members of what the advertising eigent refers to as a 11 captive audience."

Captive audiences are any people in a situation where they are forced

to l is te n to what'someone has to say, and these audiences range from,

bus and streetcar passengers listen in g to toothpaste;commercials to

workers contacted for donations while they are on the job. In the case

of the bus passenger, - l i t t l e soc ia l pressure can be,focused upon him in

the attempt to s e l l toothpaste. However, th is doesn’t apply to the worker

who is contacted on the job for something that had apparently been

considered as valuable by management — say money or blood. I f donating

money for a particular cause, or blood for, say, Korea — i f th is is

the thing to do in any work group situ ation and a worker does not con- -

form, he is generally subjected to rid icule by h is fellow employees or,

in extreme cases, he is subjected to economic sanctions by h is employer

and soc ia l sanctions by neighbors. Consequently, th is fellow generally

gives whatever the occasion demnds, whether or not he believes in the

rightness o f ,the contribution. He is donating under duress, where he

might not have donated at a l l . Obviously then, the socio log ica l data

of such contributors cannot be included in the study, and for th is

reason any v is ito r to the Blood Bank who might have been contacted in

any form of captive audience situation and thereby pressured into

"pledging" a donation which he i s honor bound to carry out (the socia l

and other sanctions having merely been suspended u n til the pledge is

redeemed) has necessarily been excluded from th is survey. Thus, part.

10

of the method used in the survey has been to include in the sample only

v is ito r s to the Blood Bank who have, as nearly as can be acertained,

offered their blood of th e ir own free choice. They are people either

unemployed, self-employed, or employed in businesses small enough to

escape captive-audience recruitment. The sample employed then is made

up of only those people who could be expected to respond to a general

community-wide drive of undifferentiated appeal.

Before th is correction for captive-audience recruitment, the to ta l

sample (the number of Medical History Garde examined) exceeded 9,000

v is ito r s to the Blood Bank. After correction, the number of individuals

l e f t for consideration totaled 4417. The general character of the

sample is as follow s:

Total V is its ( v is i t s representing the to ta l number of actual v is i t s

to the Blood Bank^ for the calendar year 19$1; as corrected): 4417,

Total V isitors (v is ito r s representing the actual number of v i s itors

in the same period, some of the v is itors repeating th e ir c a lls at the

Blood Bank during the time span, and thereby constituting more than one

v i s i t ) : $446.

Total Donations (donations representing the number of successful

v is i t s during the period — that i s , v is i t s resu lting in actual blood

contributions): $$62.

Total Rejections ( rejections representing v i s i t s that did not re­

su lt in blood contributions):

V isitors Accepted ($446 le ss rejected v i s i t o r s ) : 27$6. 10

10. Red Cross Regional Blood Center, Tucson, Arizona.

11

V isitors Rejectedt 7 1 0 /^

Based on population within the county area the respective per­

centages run as follow s:

Total V isits - 5*1 per cent.

Total V isitors - 2 .4 per cent.

Total Donations - 2 .5 per cent.

Total Rejections - 0 .6 per cent.

Total V isitors Accepted - 1.9 per cent.

Total V isitors Rejected - 0 .5 per cent,

with the county population being 141,216 as of the 1950 census. ^

The method of recording pertinent data consisted of transferring

a l l the information needed from the Medical History Card to individual

I.B.K. cards, one card for each v i s i t for the year 1951; with the data14

punched into the card. (See sample I.B.M. card and explanation, p.12. 11

12

)

11. This figure d iffers from 855; Total Rejections, because sons v is ito r s were rejected more than once.

12. See Pima County, U. S. Bureau of Census, U. S. Census o f Popu­la tion 1950; Vol. I I , C haracteristics of Population, Part 5, Arizona, Chapter B, U. S. Government Printing O ffice, Washington 25, D. 0 .

IJ . Although acceptable ages for blood donors range from 18 to 60, \the population figure for th is age group is not availab le. Moreover, / many of the rejections are for in su ffic ien t, or excessive age reasons.

14. In addition to data described on p. 12 , other punches include: Line 11 - Hemoglobin satisfactory? ( 1-yes;2-no) } Line 12 - Shortness of breath? (l-y e s;2 -n o ); Line 1$ - Allergy? (yer or no) j Line 14 - Hay fever? (yes or no) ; Line 15 - Asthma? (yes or no); Line 16 - Further rejections? (1-over or under age; 2-abnormal temprature; 5-over or under weight; 4-fa s t or slow pulse; 5**high or low blood pressure).

A complete explanation can be found in Library, University of Ari­zona, with th esis and the complete set of I.B.M. cards.

1 2

GIVEN NAME MIDDLE INITIALB O X 4 5 E M E R Y P A R K

DEPARTMENT NAME

MATRICULATION NO. COLLEGE OR SCHOOL CLASSIFICATION

0

1

E ARTMENT COURSE NO. 2

3

4SECTION LAB UNITS GRADUATE f in a l g r a d e

CREDIT1

6

INSTRUCTOR'S SIGNATURE

DATE

MO. DA .2 3 14 5 ! e

NAME

IB M 7 8 4 9 0 0I * i n i l 2 13 14 15 IS 17 II II 23 21 22 23 24 2S 2t 27 2* 23 30 31 E 33 34

MATRIC.NUMBER

5136 37 36 38 40*41

TO THE STUDENT: FILL IN YOUR NAME. UNIV E R S ITY O F A R IZ O N AATRICl ATI! 1 NUMBER (IF OLD STUDENT),

COLLEGE OR SCHOOL IN WHICH YOU ARECLASS CARD

ATTENDANCE: GRADES0

RE STERING, AND CLASSIFICATION ON THIS

CARD. UPON PAYMENT O f FEES, YOU ARE RE6UU8

REGARDED \S OFFICIALLY ENROLLED IN EACH SOMEWHAT IRREGULAR VERY IRREGULAR

COURSE L ib TED ON YOUR SCHEDULE AS FINALLY ATTITUDE: EXCELLENT 1

APPROVED. IF Y~J FAIL TO ATTEND ANY COURSE EXCEllEMT

FOR WHICH YOU ARE ENROLLED. WITHOUT OFFI- GOODFAIR GOOD 2

Cl ALLY WITHDRAWING FROM THE COURSE. IT WILL UNSATISFACTORY

BE NECESSARY TO AWARD A GRADE OF 5 . INTEREST:FAIR 3EXCELLENT

GOODTO THE INSTRUCTOR: RECEIPT OF THIS FAIR

PASSINGRECEIPTED CLASS CARD FROM THE OFFICE OF UNSATISFACTORY 4

THE REGISTRAR AUTHORIZES THE STUDENT TO PREPARATION FOR COURSE:

ATTEND THIS CLASS. WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ADEQUATEPROBABLY INADEQUATE FAILURE 5

STUDENT’S OFFICIALLY APPROVED SCHEDULE. TIME SPENT ON DAILY PREPARATION:STUDENTS FOR WHOM YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A SUFFICIENT CONDITION 6RECEIPTED CLASS CARD SHOULD BE DENIED INSUFFICIENT

THE PR ILEGE OF CLASS ATTENDANCE AND

REFERRED AT ONCE TO THE REGISTRAR. THIS

FAILURE IN FINAL EXAMINATION

INCOMPLETE 7CA°0 SHOULD BE RETAINED BY THE INSTRUC TO THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER. APPN. WITH 8

DEPARTMENT NAME

4 ^ 7 4!]49 56 51 E 5 3 54 55 56 57 56 5 I60 61 6263646566676663 T o ll 72 73 74 75 76 77 76 78 M

COURSEN U M B E R UNITS INSTR.

I . B. M« Card

Key: Line #1 — Telephone (# l-y e 8 j #2- n o ) ; Line — Sex (tf 1-m ale; #2- fe rra le ) j L ines & #4 — O ccupation ( see key on f i l e w ith c a r d s ) ;L ines #5 &> #6 — Year of B ir th (se e key on f i l e w ith c a r d s ) ; Line frl — Acceptance ( # l - y e s ; # 2 -n o ) ; Line — Card Number (w hether one or more v i s i t s d u rin g c a le n d a r y e a r 1951); Line #9 — Number o f V i s i t s ; Line #10 — Date o f V i s i t .

15

F in ally , the plan of the paper w ill consist of the various steps

employed in gathering information concerning the characteristics of

the blood donor, and the recording of th is data. Chapter I w ill con­

sider age and sex grade d iffe r e n tia ls , and the method of arriving at

the focus on th is ch aracteristic . Chapter II w ill deal sim ilarly with

the occupational focus. Since a l l s ta t is t ic a l f ic t io n s of a dynamic

society are inconstant things. Chapter III w ill consider the change

taking place — as regards the f ic t io n — or trends in th is d irection .

Chapter IV w ill deal with another characteristic , dependability,

which w ill be fu lly discussed at that point.

Because of the nature of the study and the method involved,

certain brief conclusions and summaries w ill be made for the sake of

c la r ity , at the end of each chapter, after which a fin a l summary of

conclusions w ill be made — that i s , conclusions relating to the

characteristics of the subjects studied, the data surveyed.

14

Ghapter I

AGE AI® SEX GRADES

Bearing in mind one of the purposes of the survey — to provide

agencies of a community with certain established characteristics of

contributors toward which these agencies can more su ccessfu lly aim

th e ir appeal of the moment — i t becomes necessary to consider which

of the categories of potential donors we sh a ll use as the constants

against which the variables of age, sex, occupation, e tc . can be com­

pared for measurement. Total V is it s , Total V is ito rs , Total Donations,

Total V isitors Accepted. . . Rejected — a ll could be used with

varying resu lts . But "we are interested here in the 1 11 kind of people11

who give, sp ec if ic a lly , blood, and who, because of that, are very

lik e ly to give other th ings, namely money.^ S t i l l , donating blood

depends upon a number of th ings, one of which is good health, the

a b ility to g ive, which i s of no concern to people seeking money. For

example, no community drive is lik e ly to send a banker along with the

door-to-door canvassers to determine whether Mr. X or Mrs. Y can

rea lly afford the proposed donation. But th is is precisely what happens

in the case of proffered blood: the donor's health is carefu lly deter­

mined prior to the donation, and the donation, the pint of blood, is

1. Or, i f one prefers, the “kind of people" in question giveboth blood and the other, money et a l because of apparently sim ilar motivations.

15

en tire ly dependent upon the state of the prospective contributor's

health. Consequently, in blood donations, there are both successful

and unsuccessful categories of potential donors. Whereas, i f the

proposed contributions were of money, e t c . , or something like payroll

deductions for war bonds, i t is obvious that no such conditional cate­

gories could e x is t . Since i t is apparently the case that few people

go to the trouble to v i s i t a blood bank knowing in advance that they

w ill be rejected, we have to assume that in the case of blood contri­

butions, the offer and the actual donation amount to the same thing:

Total V is its must equal Total Donations and Total Rejections. As a

matter of method, then. Total V is i t s , being equal to to ta l successful

and to ta l unsuccessful o ffers, w ill serve the purpose of the constant.

Moreover, since any comparison between Total V isit# and Total

V isitors and the varihhle i s lik e ly to produce sim ilar resu lts , it;

appears either one w ill do. In comparing age, sex, e t c . , to eith er

constant. V is its or V is ito r s , substantially the same characteristic

w ill resu lt, only with some exaggeration of the characteristic resu lt­s' 'ing from the use of the Total V is its category. This i s a matter of

simple choice: which one to use? Since Total V isitors i s the smaller

of the two categories, $446 against 4417* i t shall be used purely for

that reason.

2 . Each is merely an aspect of the other, so far as characteristic d ifferen tia ls are concerned. E .g ., i f a 25-year-old male bus driver v is ited the blood bank four times during I95I, he would, when counting each of h is v i s i t s , only exaggerate the 25-year-old male bus driver group. However, he could conceivable a ffec t an idea l-target concept in the factor of dependability. Hence, -this w ill be discussed in Ch. V.

16

F inally , the s ta t is t ic s offered here w ill be those only d irectly

concerned with age and sex groupings. Both d iffe re n tia ls — expecially

that of sex — w ill continue to pop up throughout the survey, since

they are indespansable d ifferen tia ls and cannot be iso la ted .

To consider age groups f i r s t , the following is a breakdown of

'these within the lim its of available data.^

Table %

Total V isitors and Total Population by Age Groups * 4

AgeGroup

TotalPopulation

TotalV isitors

418-204

4692 79

20-24 12595 428

25-29 12555 584

50-54 11454 585

55-59 10757 557

4o-44 >9886 462

45-49 8500 570

50-54 7264 255

55-59 5966 144

One weakness in comparing blood donors with other donors is that the former are restricted in donations to within the 18 to 60 age groups, which may or may not be of sign ifican ce, depending upon how w ell known to the general public these restr iction s are. However, these age groups contribute a l l but a neglig ib le amount in money dona­tio n s . E .g ., See current (I952) Tucson Community Chest breakdown.

4 . Both figures based on 1950 U.S. Census report.

17

For Total V isitors, the five-year groupings in Table JC can be

broken down into smaller two-year groups throughout the age span,

18 to 60 (See graph, p. 18), however, there are no comparable census

groupings with which to compare the two-year groups.

In percentages — that i s , the per cent of the to ta l population

of the respective age groups (Table l ) who respond as v is ito r s —

certain age characteristics become apparent*

Table II

Total V isitors by per cent of Total Age Group Population

Age Total InGroup V isitors Per cent.

18-20 79 .017

20-24 428 *o$4

25-29 $84 .047

50-54 $8$ .05

55-59 557 .049

4o-44 462 .046

45-49 570 .044

50-54 25$ .0$2

55-59 1445 .024

Thus response to appeals, as shown in Tables _I & I I , begins to

show a d efin ite rise at the 25~29 age le v e l, continuing into the peak

5* 16 I.B.M. cards were mis punched, making the to ta l of Total V isitors column equal $4)0, or $446 le ss 16*

18

P late I

iV w W do'ih.W 41,' •ii'fo ^ ‘s+'cv'rt w'wt

All V isitors By Age Groups

(Based on Total V isitors - $446)

19

50-54 age group, and declining gradually from that leve l u n til the

f i r s t sharp drop at the ^0-^4 lev e l ia reached. Moreover, noting that,

population figures are about the same for the 20-24 and 25-29 year

groups (12,595 and 12, 555 respectively) and that percentage of the

to ta l population reaches i t s height here,** i t would seem that in so

far as age groups are concerned, here is a good place to begin thinking

about the most frequent g iver . But a look at the graph on page 18

a lters the situ ation somewhat.

True, the big advance in response to a need begins at about the

25-26 year lev e l and remains high u n til the 29-50 year level is

reached, declining sharply, then risin g again to the highest point on

the graph. But th is la tter point, the highest one, is at the 54-55

year le v e l, or at the declining end of a declining population group

(11,454) and at the beginning of another and s t i l l lesser segment of

the to ta l population (10,757)• Consequently, i f some sort of an arbi­

trary response factor were to be assigned to these groups — or, say,

a quantitative rank order were proposed — then one would be compelled

to give the highest response factor (say, # l ) or the highest rank

order to the 54-year-old group (see graph, page 18) and choose th is

age group as the most lik e ly to contribute to a need of which the

group i s aware. The other groups can be assigned diminishing response

factors, or placed in order of rank below the 54-year-old group, as

fo llow s: the 28-year old group (either next in rank or given a response

6 . See 1950 census reference, Table 45.

20

factor o f, say, 2 ); the 50-year group; etc.^

But so far nothing has been said about the sex of these age

groups. Table III then should shed some ligh t on th is matter.

Table III

Male and Female V isitors by Age Groups

Age Total Total TotalGroup V isitors Male Female

18-20 79 62 17

20-24 428 280 148

25-29 584 557 227

$0-54 585 589 194

55-59 557 544 195

4o-44 462 500 162

45-49 570 210 160

50-54 255 120 115

55-59 144 75 71

Obviously, the males appear to be3 the most lik e ly contributors.

Percentagewise, th eir response factor or rank order looks even better

as seen in Table IV

ft v 77. On graph, page 18, each entry represents two years. E .g ., 28

(and 2p), 50 (and 51), e tc .

21

Table IV

Male and Female V isitors by Ag.e Groups

( in per cent of Population)

AgeGroup

Per cent1 Total Pop.

Per cent Male

of Population Female

Per cent Male

of V isitors Female

18-208

.017 .025 .006 •78 .22

20-24 .054 .042 .025 .64 •56

25-29 .047 .057 .056 .61 • 59

50-54 .05 .068 .055 .67 • 55

55-59 ' .049 .066: .054 .64 .56

40-44 .046 .061 .052 •65; •55

45-49 .044 .051 .057 •596 .404

50-54 .052 .055 .05 .51 .49

55-59 .024 .024 .024 .507 .495

From Tables III and BT, i t is clear that men, le ss than theQ

equal of women in to ta l population,7 have somewhat more than kept:up

th e ir end of giving, of responding to an appeal. As a matter of fa c t ,

blood donations by males outnumber those of females by nearly two to

one, although there are more females than the opposite sex.

But th is is a phenomenon en tire ly relative to age le v e ls . For

example, between 18 and 20, male donors — that i s , v is ito r s — com- 8 9

8. Same as per cent column, Table I I , page 17.

9 . 1950 U.3 . Census data.

22

prise 78 per cent of the to ta l v is ito r s to the Blood Bank, while at

the year le v e l, the percentage of of th is category is only $0.7,

or barely over h a lf . I t should also be noted that th is is a rather

steady movement except for the middle age le v e ls .

When the five-year groups are broken down s t i l l more, as in the

case of the asexual groupings (page 18, graph), sexually d ifferentiated

characteristics come into further focus. Female v is ito r s , already

reaching a maximum in the 2$-29 age lev e l (both numerically and per­

centagewise) , show a sp ec ific peak response at age leve l 26 (see

graph, page 2 $ ). S im ilarly, male v is ito r s reach th e ir peak response

at leve ls $0 and $4 respectively (see graph, page 24), which is very

sim ilar in character to the asexual graph (page 18).

Thus, in the case of both age and sex grades, a f ic t io n can be

produced that would be soc io log ica lly d ifferentiated from other contri­

butors and from the population as a whole by an age lev e l of $4 years

(which is the peak figure of both graphs oti pages 18 aid 24) and by

masculinity. However, since i t would be highly impractical to exclude

women from a f ic t it io u s most-probable-contributor concept (and since

sex grades are paramount throughout a l l socia l organizations), we ought

to consider, in so far as the data warrants, both a male and female

most-probable-contributor f ic t io n , and keep them in mind throughout,

the survey.

Consequently, the following conclusions rela tive to the rank

order of age groups can be stated.

For males, the rank order would begin as follow s:

25

Plate II

"*> t o W to S I 34 Bb S8 *b 4 t # 4k * 5 0 S IS 4 Cl « UO CL

Female V isitors By Age Groups

(Based on Total Female V isitors - 1295)

24

Plate III

VW T* %% 34 3$ 30 Sk % 3& 4* «H-»14 46 Sb Sx Sli £& \et> bt-

Kale V isitors By Age Groups

(Based on Total Kale V isitors — 215I)

25

For females:

54-55 year group

5O-5I year group

28-29 year group, e tc .

26-27 year group

28-29 year group10

54-55 year group, e tc .'

10. See graphs on pages 25 and 24 for f u l l rank order character i s t lc s of female and male donors respectively .

26

Chapter II

OCCUPATIONS

In th is chapter, two standard references relating to occupations,

their d e fin itio n , description , and c la ss if ic a t io n , have been used.

The references are the Dictionary of Occupational T itle s (DOT) and

and the method of c la s s if ic a t io n , e t c . , employed in the 1950 U. S.2

census m aterial. Both methods of c la s s if ic a t io n l i s t occupational

t i t l e s under a sub-heading of the particular occupational category

( e .g . , automobile mechanic, the occupational t i t l e , would appear under

the general category of sk illed worker or laborer) . In addition to

th is — and because of the fact that various occupations tend to out

number others in sp ecific locations throughout the country — the

survey has attempted to a lter the standard c la ss ific a tio n s somewhat,

in order that more focus may be placed on those occupations in relative

abundance within the area of the survey, so that the following over­

a l l c la s s if ic a t io n has resulted*

Category #1 (professional, technical and kindred)

1. Physician and osteopathic physician.2 . D entist. 1

1. Dictionary of Occupational T it le s , Vol. I I , Occupations Olas- s if ie d , 2nd. edv, Federal Security Agency, U.S. Gov't printing O ffice.

2 . Op. c i t

Category f l (C on't)

5* Pharmacist.4 . Lawyer.5 . Teacher (primary and secondary grades).6 . Engineer7 . Accountant8. Architect9 . A rtist, writer, e tc .

10. M inister, p r iest, e tc .11. Registered nurse12. Professional miscellaneous IJ. Draftsman14. Laboratory technician15. Interior decorator16. S ta t is t ic ia n17. Techinical misc.18. Forest ranger, and kindred 19• Professional sportsman

Category #2 (Farmers and farm managers)

1. Rancher2 . farmer

Category # 3 (Managerial, o f f ic ia l , proprietors)

1. Buyer ( r e ta i l & wholesale merchandise)2 . Claims adjustor5. Business owner (small)4 . Contractor5 . Manager (o ff ic e or firm)6 . O ffic ia l (private business)7 . Supervisory8 . Merchant9 . O ffic ia l (public)

10. Railroad conductor11. Misc.

Category f4 (C lerical and kindred)

1. Dental technician2 . Department manager5. Secretary4 . T eller5* Cashier6 . Bookkeeper

7. Typist6 . Receptionist9« Office manager (c le r ic a l)

10. Post o ffice clerks, e tc .11. Telephone operators12. Misc.

Category $5 (Sales workers)

1. Advertising agents2 . BrokersJ. Sales manager4 . Sales people

Category #6 (Craftsmen, Foremen & kindred — sk illed )

1. Sheet metal worker2 . E lectrician5. Carpenter4 . Watchmaker5. Machinist6 . Mechanic7. Railroad engineer8. Body man9. P lasterer

10. Misc.

Category #4 (C on't)

Category #J (Operators and kindred — sem i-skilled)

1. Painter2 . Butcher5. Labor foreman4 . Bus driver5 . Truck driver 6 m Switchman7. Tractor operator8. Service sta tion operator 9* Locolotive fireman

10. Brakeman11. Misc.

Category #8 (Service — private household)

1. Maid2 . Housekeeper 5. Cook4 . Gardner

29

1. Practical nurse2 . Fireman 5. Policeman4 . Kiec.

Category $10 (Workers — farm and non-farm — unskilled)

1. Wrangler2 . Cowboy5. Non-farm

Category $11 (Head of household)

1. Housewife

Category $12 (Student)

1. A ll

Category $1$

1. Occupations unknown

Category $14 (catch -a ll)^

1. M ilitary2 . V isitor •5. Retired4 . Unemployed

Category #9 (S erv ice — except p r ivate household)

So much for the categories and the actual occupational t i t l e s ,

which, as has been stated , have been s lig h tly altered to f i t the need

of the survey.

Since the over-all purpose of the survey is to bring some focus

on the characteristics of people who contribute more than the average 5

5. Categories $1J and $14 are creations to hold irrelevant, ma­te r ia l that cannot be used in the study.

amount, i t w ill be necessary to begin comparing these donors with

the population as a whole, in terms here of occupation. Table V

begins such a focus.

50

Table V

Total V isitors and Total Population by Occupational Categories4

Occupational Total TotalCategory Population V is its

#1 5554 541

#2 768 55

#5 5459 260

A 4944 407

#5 5909 555

#6 6557 654

#7 6085 557

#8 1656 21

#9 4865 116

#10 4555 295

#11 29,485 1001

#125 — — — 154

4. Sample based on 4417 v i s i t s .

There are no accurate s ta t is t ic s on students within the Greater Tucson area, so th is category w ill be discontinued throughout the remainder of the survey. Moreover, university students, of which an accurate number can be obtained, donate as a u n it, and th e ir f i l e s , their Medical History cards, have not been taken into account in the survey for the very reason that they donate as a u n it.

51

In so far as response factors or rank orders are concerned, from

the information in Table V i t is fa ir ly easy to begin assigning some

sort of numbers or order to each. However, there are several other:

factors that ought f ir s t to be taken into account. One of the f i r s t

of these is the factor of percentage: How do the figures in Table V

look when translated into per cent of population, per cent of Total

V is its , etc? Table VI w ill change the number of v i s i t s (Table V) into

percentages, while Table VII w ill deal with a comparison between

percentages of to ta l population of the. categories and the per cent

each category contributes to the Total V is i t s , 100 per cent of which

equals 44l7»

Table VI

Total V isits by per cent of Occupational Categories

Occupational Total Per cent; ofCategory V isits Category

#1 541 10.1

#2 55 4 .5

#5 260 4 .7

#4 407 ■ 8.2

555 9.0

#6 654 10.0

6. For conclusions re th is chapter, see page 41.,

7• E»g., 541 v i s i t s equals 10.1 per cent : of 5554 (Table V)

52

Table VI (Con't)

Occupational Total Per cent ofCategory V isits category

#7 557 5.8

#8 21 1.2

'19 118 2.4

#10 295 6.4

#11 1001 5.5

Table VII

General Characteristics of Occupational Categories

OccupationalCategory

Per cent of Population

Per cent of Category

Per cent of Total V is its

#1 5.9 10.1 12.2

#2 0.55 4.5 0 .7

#5 4 .0 4.7 5 .8

5*5 8.2 9.2

#5 2 .8 9.0 8.0

#6 4 .5 10.0 14.5

#7 5-5 5-8 8.0

#8 1.1 1.2 0 .4

#9 5-6 2.4 2 .6

#10 5-5 6.4 6.6

#11 21.0 5-5 22.6

55

: Going back for a moment to Table Y» i t would seem that Housewives

(#11) and Skilled Workers (#6) and C lerical (#4) should be ranked 1,

2 , and 5» in th eir response to the blood progran, in that order. How­

ever, even though Housewives did account for 22.6 per cent of the -

Total V is it s , only J.5 per cent of th e ir to ta l population within, the

county area actually - responded to th is appeal. C lerical (#4 ), compri­

sing only 5.5 per cent of to ta l c le r ic a l population within the area,

sent 8.2 per cent of th e ir to ta l number into the Blood Bank for 9.2

per cent of Total V lefts made. Professional and sem i-professional ;Q

people (#1) did even:better than th is . While comprising only 5.9 per

cent of Total Population, 10.1 per cent of th e ir number contributed

12.2 per cent of the Total V is it s . And Skilled Workers (#6), compris-?:.:.

ing 4.5 per cent of the Total Population, sent .10.0 per cent of th e ir

number to the Blood Bank for 14.5 per cent o f the Total V is its made

by a l l categories.

There are s t i l l other factors to consider. For example, while

professional and sem i-professional people as a group r e fle c t a high

degree of response to the blood program, certain occupational groups

within the category are largely responsible for th is high degree of

response (that i s , the category as a whole does not respond in equal9proportions to th e ir numbers — the t i t l e s — within the category).

Moreover, there are certain additional corrections to be made within

other categories because of captive-audience situation s already re- 8 9

8. Though not as a group as w ill1 be shown la te r .

9. E .g ., see Table V III, page

ferred to . Probably 5 P®r cent of Category #1, 1 per cent o f 15

per cent of #4, 4 ) per cent of #6, 24 per cent of #7» and 10 per cent

of #10 work in places where blood donations are recruited on the

sp o t ,^ whose records are kept asperate from others and were not, con­

sequently, included in the corrected sample, although carried up to

now in the to ta l of th eir respective populations within the area. S t i l l

others — 525 workers from Categories #6 and #7» 455 from #10, and 60

from #4 — should be deducted from the to ta l populations of those

categories for the same r e a s o n s .S in c e these workers donate blood as

members of captive audiences, the to ta l of which donations have not

been considered in the to ta l V is i t s , Donations, e t c . , th e ir numbers

for purposes of comparisons should not therefore be included in the

to ta ls of actual populations. Consequently, Table V (page $0) and Table

VI (page 51 f ) ought to be revised as fo llow s:

Table V

Occupational Total TotalCategory Population Population (as corrected) * 11

#1 5554 5087

#5 5459 5585

#4 4944 4142

#6 6557 5270

#7 6085 5710

#10 4555 : 5645

10. Hughes A ircraft, Grand Central, e t c . , by State Labor Comm, estimates

11. Ajo employees (Phelps-Dodge Corp.) by actual count.

55

Table VI

OccupationalCategory

TotalV is its

Per cent of Category (old)

Per cent ofCategory (as corrected)

#1 541 10.1 10.6

#5 260 • 4.7 - 4 .9

A 407 8.2 9 .8

6j4 10.0 20.0

#7 557 5.8 9.4

#10 295 6.4 8.1

Thus, in placing the Categories, as corrected, in a rank order on the

basis of the particular category's response to the blood program,

that order would necessarily be as follows*

Skilled — #6

P rofessional, technical and kindred — $1

Sales workers — ^5

Sem i-skilled — #7

C lerical and kindred — Jfk

Unskilled — j lQ

Managerial, o f f ic ia l , proprietors —

Farmer and farm manager — $2

Housewife — #11

Service (except private household) — #9

Service (private household) — #8

56

Moat of the Occupational Categories remain fa ir ly stable and con­

s isten t throughout — that i s , the occupational t i t l e s that make up

the specific Categories generally r e f le c t a sim ilar number of v i s i t s ,

generally v i s i t the Blood Bank about the same number of tim es. For

example. In Category #6 ( sk illed workers), v i s i t s are fa ir ly evenly

distributed among the t i t l e s , with only a very s lig h t lead going to

Automobile Mechanics. This same thing can be said for the other

Categories with the exception of $1 (professional and semi-profesel::.u~

s io n a l). Here, esp ecia lly toward the professional end of the Category

(see 26 f ) , there is a wide variation of v is i t s by sp ecific occupa­

tions , School teachers, whose to ta l population (as corrected) should

not greatly exceed that of physicians (and osteopathic physicians) in

the area, i f at a l l , actually v is ited the Blood Bank nearly 1) times

more than physicians and 20 times more than d en tis ts .

Breaking the f i r s t part of th is Category down, one can get the

following basis for comparisons

Table VIII

Total V isits by Professional Occupations

T itle of Occupation

Physicians

D entists

Pharmacists

Lawyers

TotalVisitsc-

15

9

11

29

195Teachers

57

Table VIII (Con't)

T itle of TotalOccupation V isits

Engineers 62

Accountants 55

In incidents where figures for the to ta l number of occupational

t i t l e s within an area are availab le, an accurate rank, order can thus

be set up within the Category i t s e l f .

Nothing as yet has been said about the sex d iffe re n tia l in

regards to occupations. Using the occupational data as lis ted in the

I950 census ( and as that data appeared in Table V and Table VI12before corrections, pages $0 and J l) on to ta l population of the

various Categories, the Categories and Total V is its break down.by sex

in the following manner«

Table IX

Total V isits and Total Populations of Occupational Categories by Sex

Occupational Population V isit#Category Total Male Female Total Male Female

#1 5*554 2,904 2,450 541 556 205

12. The correction in Tables V & VI, as revised, was an estimate by the State (Arizona) Labor Commission not on the basis of sex , the d iffe r e n tia l, within the Categories. However, the percentages within the Categories of male and female would, by the same estim ate, be the same — op. c i t . — so th is percentage figu re , which is the one to be used ultim ately (see Table X) for the comparison, remains unchanged.

58

OccupationalCategory Total

Table IX (Con't)

PopulationMale Female Total

V is itsMale Female

#2 768 725 45 55 55 0

#5 5,4$9 4,496 945 260 259 21

#4 4,944 1,788 5,156 407 . 215 192

tb 5,909 2,597 1,512 555 520 55

#6 6,557 6,215 124 654 622 12

#7 6,085 5,152 955 557 506 51

#8 1,658 108 1,550 21 6 15

#9 4,885 2,418 2,465 118 95 25

#10 4,555 4,444 - 111 295 275 20

#11 29,485 272 29,215 1,001 0 1,001

Table X (below) brings the sex characteristic of the V isito rs ,

as inferred from the characteristic of Total V is its (see footnote 1$

below) into s t i l l sharper focus by substituting percentages for the

actual figures as shown in Table IX (above).

1$. Mo corrections have been made in the V is its column for dupli­cate v is i t s by the same person — that i s . Total V is its rather than Total V isitors was used for comparison. But again, the in terest in so far as comparisons are concerned, is in percentage fig u res , and percen­tage wise the ratio of male to female, e t c . , remains very much the same — e .g . , of the Total V isitors ($446), 6$ per cent i s male, $7 per cent, female; Total V is its (4417)» 62 per cent male, $8 per cent female.

59

Table X

V iaits and Populations of the Categories ( in per cent) by Sex

Occupational Total Population Total V is itsCategory Male Female Male Female

#1 54 46 65 57

#2 92 8 100 0

#5 85 17 94 6

#4 56 64 55 47

#5 67 55 90 10

#6 98 2 98 2

#7 84 16 86 14

#6 6 94 29 71

#9 49 51 80 20

#10 98 2 95 7

#11 1 99 0 100

Only in one category (above) do women respond to the appeal for

blood more readily, more frequently, than do men, and that is in

th e ir particular Category of heads of households. I t i s quite possible

that the 272 male members of th is category were so l is te d during the

1950 census because of absence of wife or mother, e tc* , because of

the latter*a i l ln e s s , separation from the home, death, or other reasons

and thereby not being very good prospects for any appeal.

In another tra d itio n a lly female category (Category jfQ) , domestic

40

service in private households, in.which women out number their male

counterparts 94 per cent to 6 per cent, the males are nevertheless

responsible for 29 per cent of the v is i t s into the Blood Bank by

the category as a whole. However, in the skilled-worker group (Cate­

gory #6 ), which is consistent throughout — that i s , in sim ilarity

of number of v is i t s by occupational t i t l e s within the Category — and

which accounts for the greatest number of v is i t s both by actual .

count and in per cent of Category, the women here have responded to

the blood appeal in d ir e c t proportion to th e ir actual number within

the group as a whole. This is also true — though to a s lig h tly lesser

degree — of sem i-skilled workers (Category #7)» wherein women com­

prise 16 per cent of the to ta l number of those workers and send 14

per cent of th eir number to the Blood Bank.

The observing reader, thinking the survey perhapa prejudiced

against females, may point to the unskilled worker group (Category

#10) where women respond in a larger percentage than their actual

number (2 per cent of the Category and 7 per cent of the to ta l

v i s i t s ) . That is true, in as far as the figures go. However, the

true figure here should be male, 99 per cent, and female, 1 per cent

( instead of 9$ and 7 per cent respectively) of v i s i t s , due to the

U. S. census ca llin g 19 women sem i-skilled and domestics where these

had been c la ss if ie d under v is i t s as unskilled occupations. After the

necessary correction then, what has been deduced about women donors

in general s t i l l stands. And in spite of th e ir large number of

actual v i s i t s to the Blood Bank, i t must be remembered that only

41

5.5 per cent of th e ir -to ta l number, irrespective of Occupational

Categories, actually respond to the blood program appeal. • • .

To summarize what.has already been, concluded relative to oc­

cupations, there is l i t t l e doubt that in so far as occupational r e ­

groups are concerned, the Category that reflec ts the greatest response

to the blood program's appeal for donors is that of sk illed workers

(Category #6); Moreover,-women in th is Category respond in d irect ■

proportion to th e ir numbers, as do the men. This fa c t becomes a l l the

more sign ifican t when i t is remembered that in the overall picture

only one v i s i t out of three is made by a woman, or 164% v is i t s to

2770 (equals 4417' — Total V is it s ) to be exact. . . ;

Category #1 -— professional, technical and kindred — i s , as

has been pointed out, a re la tive ly unstable (that i s , highly dissim i­

lar re the v is i t s made by t i t l e s within the Category) group, with

school teachers, for example, carrying the burden of the load for the

whole Category, and thereby equalizing the poor showing of some of

the other occupations within the group. To a s lig h tly lesser degree,

registered nurses can be compared favorably with teachers in th is

group, reflectin g a proportionately high response to the appeal.

Also, in a situation where men comprise only ^4 per cent of the Cate­

gory ( f 1 ), they, nevertheless contribute 65 per cent of the group's

to ta l v i s i t s .

Category $5 (ranked third in response) — sa les workers — is

relative stable ( i . e . , sim ilar numbers of v i s i t s re occupational

t i t l e s ) ; yet only 67 per cent of it s population, which is male, ac-

42

For both sim ilarity in number of v is i t s by occupational t i t l e s

and in response by sex in proportion to the sex's population within

the group. Category #7 would rank just below the top-ranking Category,

#6.

I t i s doubtful, however, that these added considerations are im­

portant enough to influence the categorical rank order (page 55 f )*14

even in the case of Category #1. School teachers and nurses, for

example, w ill in a ll probability continue to donate clear out of pro­

portion to th e ir actual numbers within the Category, thereby continu­

ing to keep the group as a whole at about second place in a rank order

according to the per cent of the Category actually contributing.

14. This is not to say that the rank order of the Categories can­not be influenced by the use of some principles of applied sociology aimed at that end.

counts fo r 90 per cent o f the group's t o t a l co n tr ib u tio n s .

45

Chapter III

CHAKGE

Since one of the purposes of any shot-gun survey is to raise

questions for future research, i t might be well to stop at th is point

for a moment to discuss b r iefly the sample again. Although i t is true

that the sample forming the base of th is survey is extensive, and as

complete as any such sample could possibly be, s t i l l i t ought to be

born in mind that the Medical History Card(s) examined were for a

limited span of time — for the period of one year — which span may

or may not have been su ffic ien t, not for the conclusions already

given, but for the durability of such conclusions — for the possib i­

l i t y that such conclusions w ill be the same or sim ilar i f the sample

is repeated in subsequent years. Also, on the subject of durability ,

i t might be asked at th is point: How consistent are these conclusions

within the span already mentioned? This survey cannot report on the

year-to-year durability factor, since that l ie s beyond the intended

scope of the survey. I t can only suggest that such a factor as dura­

b i l i ty is important and that i t ought to be checked. Yet i t is within

the scope of the survey to check the durability of i t s own data, to

see whether age, sex and occupations vary within the span of one year,

and i f they do, how much? And that is the primary purpose of th is

chapter. However, before getting into the durability aspect, there is

a minor question of timing, relative to planning loca l welfare drives,

that can and perhaps ought to be raised by the data involved. On the

basis of the data examined then, does i f make any difference what

time of the year a community drive is begun? Apparently i t does. But

f i r s t i t ought to be understood that in showing why th is is the case,

i t is the case for only th is particular community during the particu­

lar year of the survey, ip^l* However, after seeing how blood dona­

tions can vary within a year's time, the amateur, planning a community

drive, might find i t to h is advantage to write or v i s i t the c lo sest

Red Gross Blood Bank (or a f f i l ia t e ) for information on what the

Blood Bank considers the best month by their standards for donations

— that i s , the month or months which the Blood Bank ch aracteristica lly

regards as the most successful in the number of actual v is ito r s

received.

In general, summer or vacation months are looked upon as not

very conducive to successful recruitment — at le a s t , not in th is 1

area. August i s , tra d itio n a lly , considered as the worst of a l l , by

general concensusH ow ever, the following character of monthly v is i t s

is a matter of record*

Table XI

Total V isitors by Months

1. Pima County, Arizona.

2 . By a l l of the oldest ( in service) volunteer workers at the Blood Bank, the nurses, and other miscellaneous opinions.

45

Table XI (Don't)

Month Total V isitors

January 575

February 561

March 517

April 225

May 299

June 145

July 176

August 542

September 195

October 198

November 414

December 201

Placing the months in rank order according to Table XI, they

appear as follow s, from most to lea st in amount of v is ito r s actually

v is it in g the Blood Bank: January, November, February, August, March,

May, April, December, October, September, July, and f in a lly , June.

For special appeals accenting one sex or the other, the months

can be considered on the basis of response by sex, in actual number

and by percentages, as fo llow s:

Based on T ota l V is ito r s — j4 4 6 .

46

Table XII

Month

Monthy V is its by Sex

Total V is its Male Female

Per cent of V isits Male Female

January 545 250 60 40

February 209 152 59 41

March 196 121 66 54

April 146 79 65 55

May 229 70 77 25

June 89 56 61 59

July 110 66 64 56

August 251 91 75 27

September 127 66 66 54

October 109 89 55 45

November 215 199 52 48

December 124 77 62 58

For the following arrangement(by response)i

Table XIII

Monthly Response Ranked According to Sex

Response Male F emale

1 (Highest) May November

2 August October

47

Table X III (C on't)

sponse Kale Female

5 March February

4 September J anuary

5 April June

6 July December

7 December J u ly .

8 June April

9 J anuary March

10 February September

11 October August

12 November May

Similarly* occupational categories vary somewhat with the season

of the year, the most stable of the categories varying the le a s t , and

vice versa. As one would expect therefore, the professional, tech­

n ica l and kindred group (Category #1) should show the greatest

variation in v is i t s to the Blood Bank throughout the year, which is

precisely the case. At the same tim e, the most stable elements within

the Category, the teachers and registered nurses, vary the le a s t . Also,

i t is the groups contributing lea st in proportions to th e ir numbers

that cause the fluctuations which reach a low in response during the

early winter months. Conversely, the sk illed (Category #6) and semi­

sk illed (Category #7) groups that show the lea st variation of a l l , the

both of them remaining highly consistent in th e ir response throughout

48

the year, even to sex d ifferen tia tio n s.

Age grades undergo change in the course of a year. In those

grades calculated without regard for sex d ifferen tia ls (see Plate I ,

page 18) certain groups were singled out for conment because of th eir

unusually high response to the Blood Bank appeal, and they were ranked

from highest to lowest response within the se lec t group as follows t

54-55-year-old group — 1 (highest)

28-29-year-old group — 2

50-51-year-old group — 5

26-27-year-old group — 4

However, when these age groups were examined by th e ir particular

response on a quarterly basis rather than on an annual one, they showed

some sh ifts worth noting.

For the f i r s t quarter (January, February, March), the peakrie-c-.vjse

sponse group remains the jk- jj -ye&r one (see Plate IV, page 4 9 ). But

the second-ranking one now sh ifts from the 28-29-year one to one

s lig h tly younger, 26-27• The 24-25-year group takes over third place

while 28-29 becomes fourth.

In the second quarter (April, May, June), the j k - j j - y e a r group

s t i l l remains on top, with the additional sh ifts calculated on the

graph (see Plate V, page 50)• But in the third and fourth quarters

there is a very pronounced sh ift to the younger age groups, with the

28-29-year one, and that immediately before i t , and after i t , very

d e fin ite ly reflectin g the highest response, the maximum amount of

v is i t s for the periods (see Plates VI & VII, pages 51 & 5%)*

49

P la te IV

TotalkaleFemale

ho \% u> ' l l l 4 W U ^ ^ Ve 46 4T 44 4V ^ CLS4 !f<eS& WO U"V

Age Groups F irst Quarter

Total Male - 2,1^1 Total Female - 1,295

(Based on Total V isitors - 5*446)

5 0

P late V

T o ta lKaleFemale

Age Groups Second Q u arte r

T o ta l k a le - 2 ,151 T o ta l Female - 1,295

(Based on T otal V is ito r s - 5*446)

P late VI

51

T o ta lMaleFemale

i—t—i—i— \—i—hlv> VI >0 T,L 'W to a4- ^ ^ ^ ^ l*V

Age Groups Third Q u arte r

T o ta l Male - 2 ,151 T o ta l Female - 1,295

(Based on T otal V is ito r s - 5 > ^ 6 )

52

P late VII

l O O r

TotalkaleFemale

IV \ i ve i-v >w %* a* w a t v* v i 4o t v 44 4% f t St Jw wo W3.

Age Groups Fourth Quarter

Total Male - 2,1^1 Total Female - 1,295

(Based on Total V isitors - 5,hU6)

55

The change therefore seems to be — in the e a s e of age groups

undifferentiated by sex — from older groups (54-55) to younger ones

(26-51). Present data does not allow any conclusions as to whether

th is variation is a cyc lica l ofc lin e a l one, or neither. The swing

from 54 to 26 may r e flec t a growing awareness on the part of younger

people about the need for th e ir contributions to the society in which

they l iv e . Or, i f new data were worked up for the subsequent year, i t

might show that th is is a seasonal variation, or something en tire ly

d ifferen t.

There is also a pronounced sh ift in these groups when the sex

d iffe re n tia l is taken into consideration. For example, in Chapter II

(pp. 22 and 25) male v is ito r s were ranked according to highest response

54-55» then 50-51> and 28-29, from high to low within the highest

groups, the three mentioned (see P late I I I , page 24 ). Of those v i s i t ­

ing the Blood Bank during the f i r s t quarter of the year, however,

the 54-55-year group is replaced by the younger 28-29-year group,

followed by the 54-55-year and 50-51-year groups in that order. This

can be seen in the graph on page 49 (Plate IV). The second quarter

(Plate V) shows the sh ift back to the orig in a l, the older age group.

And the process for the remainder of the year is a slow sh ift back

to the younger age groups (P lates VI & VII, pages $1 6 52).

The female age group shows th is sh iftin g back and forth by

quarter years, only to a more marked degree. From the orig inal high­

e s t response group of 26-27 (Plate I I ) , which is also the highest

response group for the f i r s t quarter (Plate IV), there is a sh ift

54

clear over to the 48-49-year group (Plate V), then back again to the

28-29-year leve l (Plate VI) and remaining fa ir ly constant there,

with the exception of the bi-modal alternate at the 46-49-year level

(Plate V II).

Although the conclusions relating to age, sex and occupations

of groups already given may not be affected in the long run by these

added considerations, anyone conducting drives might take these

various sh ifts by quarter years into consideration, esp ecia lly when

these sh ifts are as marked as that in the female age groups during the

second quarter-year period (Plate V).

And as a subject for further research, these variations ought

to prove in terestin g .

55

Chapter IV

DEPENDABILITY

Brief reference was made in the introduction to a dependability-

factor among donors, which factor or characteristic w ill be discussed

at th is point. By dependability is meant, precisely , that there are

among donors — among the v is ito r s to the Blood Bank— certain ones

who can be counted on to repeat th e ir v is i t s more than others can.

We say there are people who can be counted upon to do something, not

on just one or two conditional occasions but on most or a l l occasions

— that i s , con sisten tly . This then is what is meant by dependability

— the opposite of those people one never knows about $ whether they

might donate something th is time, since they donated to a sim ilar

drive four years ago; whether they might give a pint of blood, since

they were more or less regular donors during the war when everybody

was donating blood; whether, in b r ie f, their actions are such that

certain predictions can be made about them.

S t i l l more precisely , dependability refers to that propensity

in people reflected by those who return to the Blood Bank again and

again to donate more than the quantity orig inally asked of them, and

who appear to make these contributions as a matter of duty, an act of

fa ith , or as a resu lt of whatever motivation su ite the individual

need. Some would claim that these so-called dependable contributors

56

have a firmer hold on the values of th eir society than do other non-

contributors or independable -ones. Others would claim that these de­

pendable donors are rea lly dupes, not very shrewd c itizen s who are

always easy marks to the good propagandist. I f th is point of view is

a correct one, then whether or not one is dependable, regarding h is

contributions is -a matter of no consequence. But i f the former opinion

about dependable people is .c o rr ec t , and th is kernel of,donors is really

a reflec tion of responsible and active soc ia l a ttitu d es, then knowing

the characteristics of th is group is to know something of change,in

society and the d irection of i t . • ;

One more consideration* In order that dependability can be thought

of as something quantitative, a dependable contributor is.one who has1

donated blood at lea st three times during,the calendar year, with no

other, q u a lifica tion necessary. , ....... :

As. a matter of simple comparison, both numerically and percentage­

wise, the following information ought to throw some.light on th is

characteristic i, - .. . .

During the year of the survey_(1951)> 5^46 v is ito r s offered their

blood to the Blood Bank, of which to ta l 1295 were fem ale,,2151 were

male. Roughly th is figures three male v is ito r s to one female, or 62,

per cent male to per cent female. The Total V is its category (which

includes multiple donors who-alone accountvfor th is difference in num­

ber) is sp lit 164? female v is i t s to 2770 v is i t s ny males, or 6$ per

cent male to 57 per cent female v i s i t s , a gain of only 1 per cent for 1

1. rour donations per annum is the maximum amount allowed.

57

the men. Apparently th is means that in so far as dependability is con­

cerned , neither sex has a more valid claim on i t .

Put another way, of $446 v is ito r s to the Blood Bank, 1$18

never returned, a to ta l of 44 per cent. $4 per cent of these were male

and 46 per cent were female. Another 81$ made a second v i s i t , that

being the la s t (for the year at le a s t ) . This amounts to another 24

per cent, with men comprising 62 per cent of the to ta l , women $8 per

cent. Combining the two groups, 68 per cent of a l l v is ito rs do not

f a l l within the category of potentia l donors who have been termed as

dependable ones. Of th is number, 60 per cent is male, 40 per cent fe ­

male .

Or putting i t s t i l l another way, $2 per cent of the v is ito r s

are, by d efin ition , dependable. 68 per cent of these are male, the

remaining $2 per cent female. Consequently, in considering the factor

of dependability, men must take preceedence ofer the women.

Next, regarding age groups, those undifferentiated by sex were

orig inally ranked according to th eir response to the-appeal 1 , 2 , $,

e t c . , from 26-27, 28-29, $4-$$-year groups, e t c . , respectively .

Adding to the above order (see Plate I I , page 2$) the characteristic

of dependability, as defined, the most responsive group now sh ifts

from the younger to the older, the $4-$$-year group (see Plate VIII,

page $8). Strangely enough, there is the coincidence here of the most

responsive male v is ito r s ($4-$$) and the most dependable ones ($4-$$).

Women, on the other hand, show a decided sh ift to the right, from the

highest response lev e l of 26-27 to a $6-$7-year lev e l ( c f . Plate I I ,

56

P la te V III

T o ta lMaleFemale

tv vt w 1 4 iv tA ->v -a* 44 *i(* *i& i 'o ^ .s ^ iT .C ^ v o Wi.

V is i to ra By Age Groups

T o ta l - 5»446 Kale - 2 ,151

Female - 1 ,2 9 5

59

page 25> Plate VII, page 52, and Plate VIII, page 58).

F in ally , regarding occupational Both sk illed and sem i-skilled

groups (Categories §6 & #7) show an unusually large amount of repeated

v is it in g , while the service categories, the Farm and Farm Managers,

the Managerial group, e tc . (Categories #8, j$9, #2 and #5 respectively)

tend to r e flec t the opposite of th is ch aracteristic . Few professional

people return after the f i r s t v i s i t (except teachers and nurses), and

th is is also true for the whole category of housewives, a wholly fe ­

male group. But the female constituents of the sk illed and sem i-skilled

groups,show a dependability characteristic equal to the men in thosep

highly dependable categories.

In conclusion then, men are generally more dependable than the

women. The ideal age relative to dependability is the 5^“55“y®ar lev e l,

which is the same for males ($4-55) but considerably older than the

high, response age for women (26-27) at 56■’57-year le v e l. The most de­

pendable occupations are those which make up the sk illed and semi­

sk illed groups, in that order — and of course the teachers and regis­

tered nurses from the professional and sem i-professional category.

The occupational groups reflectin g the lea st dependability are the

remainder of th e .professional group, sa les and c le r ic a l , unskilled

workers.and the housewives. A ll other categories (v iz . Categories f2 ,

and #9) r e flec t no such characteristic and so are not considered

here. r-.: ■ ^ tV,,; ...

2 . And teachers and nurses, predominately female groups.

60

Chapter V

SUMMARY

All that can actually be concluded from the body of data as it..

i s presented in th is survey is that in Pima County (the Greater Tucson"

area), Arizona, for the calendar year 1951-# such and such age, sex,

occupational and dependability ch aracteristics, a l l of which changed

somewhat in the course of the year, appear to characterize the

majority blood donor (or potential donor) in a place-time context.

No other conclusions or se t of conclusions ia methodologically pos­

sib le^ However, in the beginning of the survey as presented here,

mention was made of the probable value of an ideal-donor concept for

community drives conducted by amateurs and how the data of the survey

might provide a basis for working out such an ideal donor. Moreover,

i t was suggested that motivations behind the giving of. blood, money,

old clothes, e t c . , were probably very sim ilar, and that a good prospect

for the one ought to be a good prospect for the other (esp ecia lly i f

the sequence of donations begins with blood giving, and perhaps only

in that sequence). Evidence was given in support of th is assumption,

and consequently i t is a contention of the survey that a blood donor

i s probably the_better prospect for any sort of community welfare

drive, provided of course the blood was donated, or the Blood Bank

v is ite d , not as a resu lt of any captive-audience recruitment.

61

There is also the p o ss ib ility that any future ideal target which

could apply to the Greater Tucson area might also apply to a substan­

t i a l degree elsewhere, and that conclusions here might also be broadly

acceptable. Greater Tucson is a highly heterogeneous area, in so far

as regionality is concerned. There are people here from a ll regions

of the United States, not to mention a much wider geographical context.

And as a matter of record, Tucson is a mixture of the whole country,

more so now than a year ago, and more so then than the year previous.

I f the reader can subscribe to th is line of reasoning, and i f he

i s interested in provisionally generalizing on the country as a whole

(considering the inadequacies of the time period of the survey), it .

might be well to concentrate for the moment on the s ta t is t ic a l f ic t io n

presented during the winter months (see Chapter I I I ) , since the s ta t is ­

t ic s which characterize the f ic t io n during that period are most lik e ly

to be universal.

S t i l l , methods and generalizations are something the reader may

or may not choose to accept. As to the resu lts of the method employed,

however, there is no choice; the f ic t io n — the beginnings of an ideal

target — is simply the s ta t is t ic a l product of a year's accumulation

of v is i t s to the Blood Bank, 4417 potential donors, a number corrected

from an original 9000-plus v is i t s because of captive-audience situa­

t io n s . And in the various characteristics —— of age, sex , occupation,

dependability — th is f ic t io n responds to the blood appeal according to 1

1. By virtue of the fact that Tucson is a well-known winter re­sort and, as such, attracts the maximum people from other areas then.

62

d efin ite and determinable patterns, to each of which he has been

ranked in terms of the amount of v i s i t s — that i s , response — made.

I f th is response can be considered a factor , without any im plication

as to good or bad, then by categories. (Occupational, age and sex) the

f ic t io n can be ranked as follow s:

I . Age and .sex grades

A: Age ... . . ,.

1. Undifferentiated by sex. .

.a. 5^-35~year group — response factor 1

b. 28-29-year group — response factor 2

c . JO -J l-y e a r group —: response f a c to r 5> e t c /

2 . Male age grades.

a. 54-55-year group — response factor 1

b. 50-^~year group — response factor 2

i c . 28-29-year group — response factos 5» e tc .

5. Female age grades.

a. 26-27-year group — response factor 1

b. 28-29-year group — response factor 2

c . 54-55-year group —■ response factor 5> e tc .'

B: Sex . " ;; :

1. All ages ..:

a. Male — response factor 1

b. Fem ale— response factor 2

2 . See page 21 f f , and P la te s I , I I , I I I .

65

I I . Occupations.

A: Occupational Categories ranked by response:

1.

2 .

5-

4 .

5-

6 .

7.

8.

9.

10 .

11.I I I . D e p en d a b ility .

A: Age grades

1. Male

a. 54-55~year group — 1

b. 40-41-year group — 2

2 . Female

a. 56-57-year groups — 1

b. 26-27-year group — 2

5. Undifferentiated

a. 54-55-year group — 1

b. 40-41-year group — 2

B: Sex

Skilled ($6)

Professional and semi-professional (#1)

Sales (#5)

Sem i-skilled (#7)

C lerical (#4)

Unskilled (#10)

Managerial, proprietors, o f f ic ia l (#5)

Farm and Farm Managers (#2)

Housewives (#11)

Service — except private household (#9)

Service — private household (#8)

64

B: Sex (Oon’t )

: , a. male — 1 ........5b. Female. — :2 ... • •:

0 s Occupation . ■

1. Ranked in order of-dependability reflected :

' ■ a. Skilled workers ; : : i ■ :

■ ! b. Sem i-skilled ; . : v . : :

, C . Sales, _ v ; .

■ ; d. c le r ic a l . .4e . Professional, e tc .

(There are occupational groups not considered in 11C11 above simply

because they r e flec t no dependability to consider. Moreover, as has :

previously been stated, i f i t were not for.teachers and registered

nurses in the professional category, th is group would be without,the.

multiple v is ito r s necessary to achieve dependability status)

Relative to occupations and change, i t has been shown th a t-sk illed

and sem i-skilled groups, plus teachers and nurses, show l i t t l e devia­

tio n from th eir norms throughout the year. In .e ffe c t , these occupations

tend to be stable while, roughly speaking, those occupations cha­

racterized by a low dependability factor tend to respond poorly and

e ra tica lly throughout the year. *

5* Total V isitors: male 21^1-female 1295> to ta l population of Pima County: male 71,059-female 70,157* U»S. census, op. c i t . , ,

.4 . See page 59.

65

Undifferentiated age groups also tend to remain fa ir ly stab le ,

weighting any graph toward the young side of the highest response age

group 54-55, with the possible exception to th is tendency occurring

during the third quarter (July, August, September) as noted by Plate

VI, page 49 (also see P lates IV, V, VI, VII, page 49 f f )•

Male age groups show the characteristic sh ift above, conforming

in a l l instances to the undifferentiated age characteristic in change.

On the other hand, women show a pronounced clustering about the younger

age groups (26-27) during the f i r s t quarter of the year. During April,

May and June there is a sh ift — slig h t — to the middle (56~59) and

older (48-49) year groups, with the la tter group being the high

response group for th is period. The sh ift then is back to the younger

age le v e ls , with the highest response age now at 28-29 and remaining

there for the fourth quarter, with a secondary peak appearing at the

46-47~year le v e l.

F in ally , the various characteristics have not been correlated

in any way, and no attempt in th is d irection was ever made, since

that would require some assumptions of value which the paper does not.

care to make. However, i t is fa ir ly easy, for example, to see that

the factor of dependability might be particularly valuable to the

amateur who needs response from groups he can count on, esp ecia lly

i f there is an emergency concerned. Other aspects of donating, such

as the mass donations of housewives, might be in teresting to others.

That is for the individual appeal to decide.

The survey has merely presented some basis data from which an

66

ideal target may be deduced, on the additional basis of continuing

research. As to whether, say, our present $4-$$-yoar old, male,

sk illed worker, growing a b it younger — 4 years — as the year pro­

gresses into the la s t quarter — whether th is socio log ica l f ic t io n can

be generalized beyond the place and time of th is survey i s , at th is

point, only a matter of u n sc ien tific opinion. This of course also

applies to the highest-response female f ic t io n . But one thing is ap­

parently certain: future research on the subject ought to be able

to catalogue an ideal target, which target w ill survive at lea st a

short-term place-time context. And secondly, i f th is ideal target can

be interpreted, on the basis of future research, as representing

advanced thought, as representing the Z eitge ist of people within a

geographical context, perhaps a new too l for measuring soc ia l change

and the d irection of i t can be refined.

67

Appendix

A

Reference about the probable objection to the use of the term

11 ideal donor" has already been made. However, th is term apparently

needs some comment, which comment is actually beyond the scope of

the study. F ir st, i t ought to be remembered that th is s ta t is t ic a l

abstraction had to be called something for no other reason than

that i t could be thought about. Secondly, i t appeared that in ary

drive, whether for blood, money, or other things, there are always

certain people, or certain groups of people, who get the ball ro llin g ,

so to speak. And i t i s in th is sense that reference was made to these

people as being "ideal targets" from the standpoint of the drive,

whatever i t s nature. Moreover, in the case of blood donations needed

immediately as the resu lt o f, say, atomic warfare, these people

the ultimate "ideal target" as arrived at through future research —

w ill be the ones who w ill supply the needed blood, or parts thereof,

with the lea st possible waste of tim e. They respond arai they are de­

pendable.

I f i t is the contention of some that the 11 ideal target" is rea lly

those people who do not donate, certain ly no objection can be made to

such an opinion. But such contentions become nothing more than useless

disputes in semantics, and as such need no further comment here.

68

B

During the actual research, while p lotting the location of the

Total V isitors to the Blood Bank on a reap of the Greater Tucson area,

i t was found that these v is ito r s to the Blood Bank tended to form

sharply defined clusters on the cap, rather than a d iffuse pattern

one might expect. Moreover, these c lu sters were lacking in periferal

fading.

The cap also re flec ts other areas of no response which sometimes

amount to spaces of as much as three and four square m iles, sometimes

more. And there developed other areas of comparable size reflectin g

only very small response from the inhabitants within.

The high-response areas did not (upon examination) r e flec t any

unusual amount of residents of the ten tative "ideal target" d iffe r ­

e n tia ls in age, sex or occupation. Consequently, i t must be concluded

from the evidence at hand that there high-response groups are not

motivated by age, sex or occupational status — that i s , that they

do not respond to the Blood Bank appeal because they are of a certain

age or sex, or working at a particular type of work. Rather than t h is ,

i t appears that the thing within people that influences them in the

presence of such appeals is found most frequently — or is most

frequently active — in people of those age, sex and occupational

groups focused upon in the paper proper.

I t would seem that here is an area for extensive research both

for so c io lo g ists and psychologists.

69

When i t was discovered that blood donors tended to form clusters

within the c ity , the residents of these communities were interviewed

in an e ffo r t to learn something of the meaning of blood donations to

them, to discover, i f possib le, some of the motivations behind these

contributions* The resu lts of th is research are s t i l l pending. How­

ever, i t can be stated unequivocably that the residents of these

neighborhoods also donated to many of the other community-welfare

drives (Community Chest, Red Cross, Polio Fund, e t c . ) , frequently

without a single exception throughout the neighborhood. Moreover, many

of the female residents, the housewives not working outside the home,

did much volunteer work. They also donated old clo th es, furniture,

e t c . , in large amounts, to the Salvation Army.

With the exception of two c lu sters composed of people of the

lowest socioeconomic group within the c ity , who, many of them being

in poor health and having used blood, and apparently donating blood

while well for future s e lf is h reasons — with these exceptions, the

clusters were composed of people in good health , extremely few of

whom have ever needed blood or plasma, but contributed nevertheless

because " it 's the thing to do. . . . Civic duty. . . . the war in

Korea. . . Someone's got to do i t . . ." and so on.

In the c lusters examined, only one person did not contribute

money to at least two money drives during the year in question, and

th is was because of an unusual se t of occurrences.

Univ. oi A rizona L ibrary

c

70

Bibliography

Hours and Earnings, Industry Report, Uniter States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor S ta t is t ic s , Washington 25, D. 0 .

Warner (W. Lloyd) and A ssociates, Democracy in J o n esv ille ,Harper & B ros., New York City, I9A9.

U. S. Bureau of Census, U. S. Census of Population 1950> Vol.I I , C haracteristics of Population, Part 5* Arizona, Chapter B, U. S. Government Printing O ffice, Washington 25, D. 0 .

Dictionary of Occupational T it le s , Volume I I , Occupations Clas­s i f ie d , 2nd. Edition, Federal Security Agency, U. S. Government Printing O ffice, Washington 25, D. C.