Suchergebnisse

In this paper I examine changes in men and women's attitudes to sexual morality across nations and time. First, I use time-series data from British Social Attitudes and the General Social Survey of the United States to examine to what extent there has been a revolution in sexual attitudes and whether the change in attitudes has continued through to the 1990s. In particular, I investigate whether changes in permissiveness are mainly due to period effects or to cohort replacement. I also compare the trajectory and pace of change in the two countries. Second, I use data from the International Social Survey Programme to compare British and American attitudes with those of four other nations with very different sociopolitical and religious traditions - Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Poland. With the exception of attitudes to pre-marital sex, attitudes have not changed very dramatically over the past few decades. Attitudes towards homosexuality are becoming slowly more tolerant, especially among women, but condemnation of extra-marital sex has remained high. Religion plays an important role in explaining both within and cross-national variations in attitudes and provides a powerful counterbalance to permissive trends. I conclude that change has not been as revolutionary as is often claimed and the demise of traditional values is over-stated.

DESPITE THE EUPHORIA IN 1989-90 WHEN SOLID COMMUNIST CENSORSHIP GAVE WAY TO A VIBRANT PRESS AND OTHER MASS MEDIA, EXPERIENCE SINCE THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD HAS REFLECTED THE PERSISTENCE OF COMMUNIST AND EVEN PRE-COMMUNIST APPROACHES TO THE COLLECTION, PRESENTATION AND DISSEMINATION OF NEWS. IN ADDITION, LEGAL CHANGES HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE OWNERSHIP OF THE PRINTED MEDIA, NOTABLY THE INVOLVEMENT OF FOREIGN FIRMS IN OWNERSHIP AND DISTRIBUTION; THE BROADCASTING MEDIA HAVE BEEN SLOWER TO CHANGE. INEVITABLY, THEREFORE, INSTITUTIONAL CONTINUITY WITH THE COMMUNIST REGIME IS PART AND PARCEL OF THE REALITY OF DEVELOPING DEMOCRACY, AND DEFINING THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IS AN ELEMENT IN THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE.

ABSTRACTOn the basis of Easton's concept of political support, an indicator of diffuse support for party government is developed. This is contrasted theoretically as well as empirically with two indicators of support for political authorities: party identification and satisfaction with democracy. Data on these indicators are contrasted across the EC member countries. Specifying the sociopolitical basis of party government support, social‐structural, attitudinal, and political‐structural correlates of this support dimension are presented and discussed.

An indicator of diffuse support for party government is proposed on the basis of the concept of political support defined by D. Easton (A Systems Analysis of Political Life, 2nd edition, Chicago: Chicago U Press, 1979). This is contrasted theoretically & empirically with two indicators of support for political authorities: party identification, & satisfaction with democracy, which are then compared for the ten member countries of the European community. Sociostructural, attitudinal, & political-structural correlates of the support dimension are identified. 11 Tables, 2 Figures, 41 References. Modified HA.

Die Entwicklung der Presse im postkommunistischen Osteuropa ist geprägt vom Fortbestehen kommunistischer oder sogar prä- kommunistischer Herangehensweisen an die Sammlung, Aufbereitung und Verbreitung von Nachrichten. Eine inhaltsanalytische Untersuchung tschechischer und slowakischer Zeitungen der Jahre 1993 bis 1996 macht vor allem die Präferenz von Journalisten für die Nutzung "offizieller" Quellen deutlich. Dieser Präferenz entspricht auf der Seite von Politikern und Regierung das Verlangen nach unkritischer Unterstützung durch die Medien. Die rechtliche Entwicklung hat zu einem tiefgreifenden Wandel in den Eigentumsverhältnissen vor allem bei den Printmedien geführt, der vor allem durch das Engagement ausländischer Unternehmen gekennzeichnet ist. Die institutionelle Kontinuität zur kommunistischen Ära ist ein charakteristisches Element des demokratischen Transformationsprozesses. Im Prozeß der Demokratisierung kommt dem Verständnis von der Rolle der Medien eine besondere Bedeutung zu. (BIOst-Wpt)

Introduction to a series of articles in Policy Studies (see abstracts in this issue) on implementaion deficits in environmental protection -- the gap between expected & actual outcomes of legislated policy. The existence of implementation deficits in both market economies (US, Italy, West Germany) & command ones (USSR) is observed, & several international parallels are described. A federal/regional/local jurisdictional split is universal; it results in a process of bargaining between the source of pollution & the local control agency, often leading to more rapid but less stringent pollution control. A consistent pattern of compromise in pollution control bargaining is noted, & the relative importances of institutional forms & legislative regulation strategies are weighed. The overall effectiveness of regulation is asserted. Innovative departures from strict legal enforcement are found to have been effective in Germany, Italy, & the US. 6 References. J. Weber.

Policy makers across the world are confronting issues relating to lone parents and employment, with many governments seeking to increase the participation of lone parents in the labour market. This book offers an up-to-date analysis of policies and provisions in the UK, US, Australia, France, the Netherlands and Norway. It examines whether and how policies support and encourage employment, and draws out policy lessons. Chapters are written by leading experts on lone parenthood in each country

Cadets at military academies represent an elite group of junior officers destined to fill the top posts in their respective armed forces and set the future standards of professional behavior. But in an era where the military profession is undergoing tremendous change as a result of a shifting mission requirements-from conventional warfare to peacekeeping and humanitarian aid-how committed are young officers to their future careers and involvement in such missions? To what extent does military socialization shape this commitment? Our research, comparing the attitudes and values of cadets at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point to those of student officers at the South African Military Academy (SAMA) at Saldanha, indicates that the values and long-term commitment of officers to their respective armed forces are directly influenced by both military socialization and reinforcement of those values by the broader society.

The research presented in this book, originally published in 1986, looks to pinpoint the psychological processes involved in the media violence-aggression relation. Expanding on earlier studies, the compilation of essays here delves deeply into aggression study and compares results about media influence across 5 countries. Cultural norms and programming differences are investigated as well as age and gender and other factors. What is offered overall is a psychological model in which TV violence is both a precursor and a consequence of aggression

SAMPLES OF STUDENT RESPONDENTS FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM, CANADA, AND THE UNITED STATES USED A 40-ITEM TRAIT BATTERY TO INDICATE THEIR IMPRESSIONS OF THREE NATIONAL AND TWO OR THREE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL FIGURES, AS WELL AS THREE NONPOLITICAL PUBLIC FIGURES. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT CERTAIN KEY DIMENSIONS WERE CENTRAL FEATURES IN BOTH THE DESCRIPTION AND EVALUATION OF DOMESTIC POLITICAL FIGURES IN ALL THREE COUNTRIES. THERE WERE STRONG SIMILARITIES ACROSS THE THREE SAMPLES IN THE CRITERIA THEY USED TO EVALUATE THE MOST SALIENT LEADERS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES. THE SAME COMMON MODEL OF EVALUATION WAS LESS USEFUL IN JUDGMENTS OF THE LESS SALIENT LEADERS, FOREIGN LEADERS, AND NONPOLITICAL PUBLIC FIGURES.