Responses came from 355 persons to a contest in 3 party & 6 provincial papers in Mar, 1957 asking R's ranged from 13-73 yrs in stated age, with 123 R's in the 20-29 age group. S's & teachers were over represented, with the illiterate & quasiilliterate not represented. Few women participated. The analysis is qualitative & based primarily on personal judgment. Indonesian Position in the World: Lack of national unity is attributed to the Dutch policy of divide & rule. Obsession with colonial rule or with Japan's impact is not present. Most of the comments on Western influences are negative. There are few direct references to Chinese in the econ life despite pol'al hostility to that group among the elite. About 10% of the responses discuss specific foreign countries: the US or communist countries. 20% of entries reflect a desire to see Indonesia play an important role in world affairs based on a belief that Indonesia is morally superior & has a national ideology of universal applicability, but few entries recommend the official neutralist policy. Indonesia as a Nation: 11% of entries mentioned the image of a national past as renewed by the Proclamation of Independence. Cultural self-confidence & an optimistic view of Indonesia's future are the dominant impressions. Moral principles are primarily anchored in religious beliefs by Sukarno's Five Principles & the basis of conflict between religious & nationalistic ideologies. National Difficulties & National Goals: The most frequent complaint (10%) is against corruption in public office. Internal divisions & econ stagnation are other difficulties. Positive goals include strong appeals for national unity by 33% of the entries, implementing the Five Principles, achieving national glory, justice, prosperity for Indonesia & the world. Peace, liberty, & equality are mentioned by 14%. Some entries mentioned progress & econ development as national objectives though demographic problems were mentioned by only 1 R. 10% mentioned educ - possibly because an increase in literacy is one of the major achievements of the Republic. Indonesia's Political System: Critical comments about Parliament, pol'al parties, & gov'al instability suggest that R's assess the situation realistically but suggest remedies in moral rather than pol'a.l terms. J. D. Twight.
The Fulbright Act came into being in Aug 1946, & its accomplishments have surpassed the expectations of its sponsor. Though there is a profusion of internat exchange programs, the Fulbright program might be examined because of its distinctive philosophy. It must be admitted, however, that there is no clear, authoritative statement of its philosophy. The rationale of the program might be drawn inductively from the circumstances of its inception & the activities in which it has engaged. Briefly put, the purpose is to further the cause of internat understanding & peace through giving some of the best men & women of the various nations an opportunity to become acquainted with each other. A distinctive aspect of the Act is its stipulation that the roles of the US & the other participating countries are to be of equal weight in the initiation & administration of the program. For example, the Act provides that the educ'al exchanges shall take place only after the US & the other participating country have entered into an executive agreement. As a result, since exchanges are being carried out with 26 countries, there are 26 diff programs in effect, yet each broadly coordinated with the common goals of all. The employment of the voluntary services of men of leading reputations in their respective fields is an indication of the great care that is taken in ensuring the educ'al integrity of the program. The program, then, is one of true educ'al exchange, not one of propaganda. In the 10 yrs of the program, 9,000 Americans have visited other countries & have brought back information & understanding with them & imparted it to their fellow Americans through talks to civic groups, radio broadcasts, articles, books, & through Sch's & Coll's. Equally signif has been the manner in which foreign grantees have been able to bring some of their own way of life to the US as well as to carry home with them a more intimate glimpse of US culture. The program also provides grants for individuals & groups outside the strictly academic professions. B. J. Keeley.
In the aftermath of Sputnik I nat'l leaders made suggestions for winning the race for sci'ific supremacy which partially depend on increased public acceptance of basic res, increased support of U's in training sci'ts & development of a more favor able picture of sci'ific work & the sci'st. 6 months before Sputnik I, a nat'l study focussing on opinions about sci was made & 6 months afterwards a probability sample of 1547 adults was interviewed 'to obtain comparative data on extent & accuracy of satellite information, patterns of news intake & att's toward sci & sci'ts.' Answers were sought to the following questions: (1) 'Can the public be made aware of major sci'ific news events rapidly?' The proportion lacking knowledge of earth satellites declined from 54% prior to Sputnik I to less than 10% within a month after the event indicating the possibility of a rapid spread of sci news under favorable circum stances. (2) 'To what extent are the events perceived in a sci'ific frame of reference?' A Coll educ & Coll or Hsch courses in sci are almost a prerequisite for understanding space events (satellites) in a sci'ific context & even the Coll audience lacks a clear conception of sci'ific procedures. (3) 'What are the effects of major sci'ific news events on general att's about sci & sci'ts?' The majority of the public possesses favorable though overly simplified ideas about sci & sci'ts likely to be changed little by news of satellite launchings (4) 'What are the consequences of major sci'ific news events for patterns of media consumption?' Over-all patterns of media use are unlikely to be affected by a sci'ific event esp when its personal relevance is unclear. (5) 'What are the soc characteristics related to sci'ific awareness, understanding & interest?' Men were more interested in & had a greater under standing of satellites than women; educ & income were highly related to satellite information. (6) 'Does the extent of media consumption influence a person's level of sci'ific information?' Extent of understanding of sci' ific purpose of satellite launchings was strongly related to the number of media used even when educ was controlled. 'Both educ & number of media used appear to be strong & independent predictors of satellite information.' C. M. Coughenour.
A part of a larger study of mail communications from businessmen to legislators on matters of econ policy done by the CIS-MIT in 1954-55. Data were gathered by interviews with 50 Congressmen (C), their staff, & a large number of businessmen (B); & by reading the incoming mail of C. The author makes the following points: (1) Both C & B place great importance on mail as a form of influence on political-legislative actions; yet, since much of B mail is 'stimulated' (writing campaigns) the expected influence is dissipated because it is precisely this kind of mail which is rarely read by C; (2) on many vital issues little or no mail may be received; (3) on tariff & reciprocal trade laws most mail comes from a few sources (business, labor & the League of Women Voters); (4) the message letters convey is shaped by the institution stimulating the mass mailing; (5) mass mail stimulated by any given industry tends to have its own special characteristics (the cherry industry letters are 'reasonable sounding'); (6) mail communication is direct; letter writers rarely go through local or state channels to write C; (7) writers rarely fully identify themselves or get prestigeful persons to vouch for them (paradoxically, the attention C pays to mail is in part a function of how important the writer or his friend is); (8) mail from non-constituents is disregarded by C; (9) writers show little technical mastery of econ legislation; (10) most letters show a high degree of cliches & stereotyped phrases, & few letters show new thoughts or indicate conviction; (11) there is a diff in the handling & effect of mail received by Senators & Representatives: Representatives see & handle their own mail & its disposition depends on the individual, the subject, time, etc; Senators have mail clerks, rarely see their mail, & rely on the judgment of their clerks as to the importance of mail; (12) precisely where a mail campaign might be helpful, there often is none; (13) generally, constituents with ideas suggest solutions which are either procedurally impossible or are not in accordance with legislative custom; & (14) mail communications on new laws are often ineffective because they come too late in the legislative process. T. L. Blair.
Described are diff's in the US & GB approach to election studies before describing French electoral sociol. While US studies are influenced by soc psychol'ts & in GB by pol'al sci'ts, the French have been most influenced by geographers, & the terms `electoral geography' & `electoral sociol' are used synonymously. Andre Siegfried is the earliest writer in the field & posited direct & simple explanations such as division of property, pop groupings, occup, submission to the priest, & racial character, & simple causation. The main portion of the work in electoral sociology (ES) has been done since WWII. There are 2 monographs in the field: (1) by Francois Goguel INITIATION AUX RECHERCHES DE GEOGRAPIRE ELECTORALE gives a synoptic account of the theory & practice. 6 main factors are to be considered in a sci'fic study of the elections: SC's; econ systems; religion; spatial configuration of the pop; influence of groups such as masons, unions, & parties; & auto-determination of the electoral evolution (the elections determine the meaning of the elections). (2) SOCIOLOGIE ELECTORALE, in which Goguel has written in the first portion he doubts whether generalization is possible. The rest of the book by George Dupeux is a guidebook for res under 4 headings: res in PO-to him, election returns, professions of faith by the deputies, dep'tal documents, & press reports; religious geography; soc structure, including pop, movement, age, sex, occup, & some econ data; & local history. E. Labrousse's work, LA REVUE SOCIALISTE, is almost the only work on a national level outside of Goguel's. He also believes that the permanence of the tendencies still holds and changes are due to changes in econ structure. Since industrial property is the primary effect on pol'al behavior, the progress of Socialism is assured. Goguel's geography of elections from 1870-1951 considers the Right & the Extreme-Left to the exclusion of the intermediate Left. One of his conclusions is that the ExtremeLeft is made up of both Ur WC & Ru peasant. This ExtremeLeft stems from the anti-clerical 'Extreme-Left'. Another conclusion is that in modern industrialized France, the CenterRight & Center-Left finds little favor in comparison to France as a whole, but the 2 extremes have their greatest strength there. He also concludes that the parties of the Center have a majority in France which can only be maintained if it considers the needs & problems of industrialized France. The methods & techniques of ES may be classified as: those that deal with map construction, &, those that reject maps for some other methods of presentation. Goguel considers questions of map construction: what shadings & hatchings to use, whether to map delegates or votes, etc. Claude Leleu advocates the use of indices in analysis for cartographic representation using fewer maps. Pierre George studied soc & econ conditions in a commuter town near Paris using road maps & semi-circles. His conclusions include a relationship of occup's to voting for pol'al parties. Guttman scales have been used by Sauerwein & de Vulpian. Roger de Smet has used is in a study of Belgian workers, & concluded that the Socialist & Communist Parties in each region of Belgium group almost exclusively workers & employees. Charles Moraze criticized ES primarily on the basis that studies have sacrificed accuracy for simplicity, & sees the need for better tools in soc sci. Arambourou criticizes similarly & wishes to study small regions intensively in order to identify components. Neither of these authors discuss interviewing as a method. Goguel called for studies of abstentionism using a temporary schema which divides abstentionism into 2 causes: where nonvoting is evidence of perplexity or deliberate att, &, where nonvoting is due to such factors as illness, not knowing of the campaign, living too far from the polls, etc. Jean Pataut distinguishes 3 sorts of abstentions: (a) necessary as a result of illness, change of address, etc: estimated at about 10%; (b) as a result of communication, pop characteristics, tradition, & other local characteristics. This is influenced by choice & will vary from place to place; & (c) pol'al factors may bring a rash of nonvoting. Roger Girod's study (N=50, based on interviews) of abstention in Switzerland postulates that both personal & collective factors are operating. Since abstaining is relatively stable in various Cantons, he concludes that abstention is primarily a function of the group. There are 3 studies of the feminine vote using Leleu's indices. Comparisons show that women abstain more than men & vote for most parties less than men with the exception of the MRP & some right-wing Cath groups. The greatest part of the women vote like the men of their class. It is concluded that work in French ES has been in spite of the methods employed,& the better short studies have used r techniques & detailed interviews. It is believed that the limitations are in the method. Working with gross data, the experimenter is unable to perform simultaneous breakdowns because he does not know how these variables actually _E among individuals. The facts of the French party system do not make his task easier. If French ES could add the soc psychol'al approach used in the US & GB to their studies of environmental forces, they could give a better picture of elections. In return, French studies have substance & methods which we in the. US could use. J. D. Twight.
Data secured from a sample of 1,530 parishioners representing the total membership of the Protestant Episcopal Church were used to investigate the strength and sources of differing points of view about the proper role of the church in contemporary American political life. Two specific questions dealt with are: (1) What limitations should be imposed on the political activities of the clergy? (2) What are the differences between church members who exhibit a 'permissive' attitude toward such activities and those who oppose them? Results indicate that almost all parishioners are willing for the minister to take some part in political activities. For example, 89% agree that he should urge his parishioners to vote. However, they are not willing that he assume a partisan role. Thus, less than 25% think it proper for the minister to permit candidates to speak in the parish house, and only 9% would approve of the endorsement of specific candidates. A 6 point Guttman scale based on responses to 5 types of ministerial activities was used to rank parishioners along a permissiveness dimension. Further analysis showed that the more permissive members were also more likely to feel that the church should concern itself with social and econ problems, should encourage support of the UN, and in general take a position on practical political issues. Contrary to expectation, however, an attitude of permissiveness toward such clerical activism is not directly but inversely related to the involvement of the individual in the organizational life of the church. The greater the % of the individual's group affiliations which are church-related, the less likely is he to endorse an active political role for the church. The relationship is maintained when sex, age, and educ are controlled and is therefore not a spurious one, though it is more pronounced among women than men, among older rather than younger parishioners, and among those with little educ and little interest or knowledge about public affairs. A clue to the interpretation of such resistance to clerical activism on the part of highly committed parishioners is given by the finding that such persons do approve of close ties between church and family. A close linking between family and church and a weak association between church and political participation are both aspects of a 'traditionalistic orientation toward religion and the church.' K. Geiger.
Two of the most urbanized countries in Latin America, Uruguay and Chile are described. The pop's of both are primarily European, but immigration is of little current importance in Chile. The age composition & demographic evolution of Uruguay resemble that of Western Europe while high fertility remains in Chile. Mass communications in both countries are modem with Spanish as the common language. There is no adequate foundation of statistical information, & since distances are great & mail uncertain, these studies were limited to the Ur areas of Montevideo & Santiago de Chile. The study in Uruguay was done by l'Institut Frangais d'Opinion Publique to measure the degree of knowledge of UNESCO & act's toward it before & after its 1954 general assembly in Montevideo. A sample 500 R's was interviewed before & after the conference, with the sampling done by selecting a number of blocks in each district & selecting households & individuals within households randomly. The UNESCO conference did exert an influence on Montevideans & more sharply defined act's existed after the conference, L'Instituta received good field cooperation which led to the organization of l'Instituto Uruguayo de lo Opinion Publica. A similar method was used in the Chilean study at the request of the U of Chile & a newly created Instit of Soc Sci's. R's were asked for facts about themselves: geographic & family origins, educ, standard of living, etc, in addition to opinions on the general situation of the country, feelings about the present & future, etc. The results of the study suggest something about the formation of alt's in Chile within cliff SC's. 55% of the people in Santiago had not been born there mainly as a result of internal migration. In the total group 7% were unemployed as compared to 11% in the Wc. Studies of educ'al level show that 54% have had the equivalent of 6 yrs of educ or less, & this % would be higher outside of Santiago. While 16% of the workers had only a yr of schooling only about 4% of each of the liberal professions & employers, public employees, & private employees have this little. Several examples show variation of att's among SE & S-cul groups. At the time of the study 86% of R's expressed confidence in the future while 18.3% expressed pessimism; but the liberal professions had more optimists (15%) & the workers more pessimists (25%). Confidence was more widespread among the young & the men. The weakest groups in the society, women, older people, workers, those with one yr of schooling or less, were all attracted by Argentina while mistrust of Argentina became more evident as one went up the soc ladder. Differences in the psychol of groups is attributed to the effects of urbanization. But the groups form a continuum rather than disparate entities. The development of either sharp class consciousness or class att's which are submerged in the national problems is seen as one of the problems faced by countries undergoing modernization. J. D. Twight.
