Suchergebnisse

Objective. I examine polarization in public opinion using the method of DiMaggio, Evans, & Bryson (DEB) (1996), but go further than DEB by using newly available years of survey data. Method. Like DEB, I derive aggregate distributional parameters for social groups in each year of the surveys, & then regress the year of the surveys on each parameter. Results. As in DEB's original paper, there is little evidence of general polarization in attitudes between the early 1970s & today. However, while DEB found some evidence that polarization in the public may be the result of polarization in our political system, with the additional years of data this conclusion is inescapable. Conclusions. Although political scientists have recently found polarization among our elected officials on economic issues, it seems clear that members of the public who identify with the partisan labels of our political system are becoming polarized on moral issues. 2 Tables, 23 References. Adapted from the source document.

Health services for older people in the NHS have developed pragmatically, and reflect the nature of disease in later life and the need to agree objectives of care with patients. Although services are likely to be able to cope with the immediate future, the growth of the elderly population anticipated from 2030 calls for long-term planning and research. The issue of funding requires immediate political thought and action. Scientifically the focus needs to be on maximizing the efficiency of services by health services research and reducing the incidence of disability in later life through research on its biological and social determinants. Senescence is a progressive loss of adaptability due to an interaction between intrinsic (genetic) processes with extrinsic factors in environment and lifestyle. There are grounds for postulating that a policy of postponement of the onset of disability, by modifications of lifestyle and environment, could reduce the average duration of disability before death. The new political structures of Europe offer under exploited-unexploited opportunities for the necessary research.