An understanding of children's interpretation of refusal statements is an important element in understanding the way girls are encouraged to cooperate with their own oppression. Refusing is a particularly important survival skill for girls growing up in a patriarchal society where boys are trained to be active but girls are trained to be compliant. In each of three samples (N = 27; N = 36; N = 20), girls differed from boys in their identification of a simple `No' as the refusal most likely to annoy an adult. Three possible explanations were explored: compared with boys, girls are less defiant; girls are more advanced; and that their perceptions are accurate. Support was found for the third explanation only. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for reassessing the role of refusals to resolve some of the contradictions around expectations of obedience and assertiveness, while recognizing the interests which benefit from keeping girls and women obedient.
AbstractConflict situations were studied as indicators of children's socio‐cognitive knowledge and the transmission of values in relation to negotiation. Concepts and paradigms from studies of requests were combined with those from studies of refusals. Puppets were used to create situations that varied (a) as to whether the child makes a request and encounters opposition (requests) or receives a request and offers opposition (refusals), (b) whether the adult offers or does not offer a reason. Children aged 3–5 years (Sample 1, N = 24; Sample 2, N = 24) were encouraged to make a series of attempts at resolving the conflict. Their responses were scored for the level of politeness or strategic skill shown. Request situations elicited higher levels of politeness and strategic skill than did refusal situations. In contrast to disputes in which the other party did not use reasons, the use of a reason by the other party elicited higher level strategies and, when the children were refusing, greater politeness. Some children were able to improve on their first attempt. The improvement was most marked when children were requesting and the adult gave a reason.
Collective efficacy has been shown to be a significant predictor of people's ability to intervene effectively on social issues. We examine people's belief in their collective efficacy and ask if it is useful in understanding pro-environmental behaviour. A survey of 5030 Australians was undertaken in 2011 to understand how Australians across metropolitan, regional and rural Australia think about collective efficacy in relation to climate change and pro-environmental behaviour. Based on previous research, we hypothesised that a sense of collective efficacy on climate change would mediate the relationship between a set of independent variables and pro-environmental consumer and civic actions as follows: education and income might influence individual agency, political persuasion might influence individual inclination, trust in institutions and community involvement relate to social capital and hence scope for collective action. The final models predicted 31% of the variance in consumer actions and 28% of the variance in civic actions. In particular, trust in environmental organisations was found to have the most significant role in predicting both collective efficacy and pro-environmental behaviours.
AbstractThe research presented in this article employed a deliberate intervention to mobilize social capital and then studied the dynamics of the way in which it influenced community development. Whether or not social capital is able to facilitate development depends on the specific context in which it occurs. Although the general context of this study was that of small rural towns in Australia's outback that are experiencing decline, each of the four towns studied had unique features which could influence the mobilization of social capital. Rural communities have the willingness and capacity to mobilize but whether this capacity is actualized may well depend on the presence of other mobilizing factors. Specifically the intervention study found that a structure needs to be in place which can take the initiative and work across the community — engaging a range of organizations. Second, the structure needs to be supported, but not controlled, by local government. Third, it needs the kind of social entrepreneurship that can sustain a community‐wide vision and bring together the diverse groups within the community.Résumé Les recherches présentées s'appuient sur une opération destinée à mobiliser le capital social, afin d'étudier les dynamiques selon lesquelles il a influé sur le développement communautaire. L'aptitude du capital social à faciliter le développement dépend du contexte dans lequel celui‐ci se produit. Bien que cette étude se place dans de petites villes de campagnes reculées d'Australie confrontées à un déclin, chacune des quatre villes concernées présentaient des spécificités propres susceptibles d'influencer la mobilisation du capital social. Les communautés rurales ont la volonté et la capacité de se mobiliser, mais la concrétisation de cette capacité peut dépendre largement de la présence d'autres facteurs mobilisateurs. En particulier, l'analyse de l'opération montre qu'il doit exister une structure capable de prendre l'initiative et de travailler avec toute la communauté en impliquant tout un éventail d'organismes. Ensuite, il faut que la structure soit épaulée, et non contrôlée, par le gouvernement local. Enfin, elle a besoin d'une sorte d'esprit d'entreprise sociale qui puisse nourrir une vision à l'échelle communautaire et réunir les différents groupes présents dans la communauté.
AbstractThis article is an intricate empirical examination of the relationship between bridging and bonding with respect to subcultural differences in religious denomination and faith orientation. The respondents were 2,710 Christian church attendees from nineteen denominations across Australia. They were surveyed with a closed‐answer questionnaire covering the topics of faith, demographics, involvement in the congregation, and involvement in the wider community. The results revealed a positive relationship between bonding and bridging social capital, with a high level of bonding associated with a high level of bridging for all denominations and faith identities. There was no evidence that high bonding within the congregation restricted bridging beyond the congregation. The results support the notion that the relationship between bonding and bridging may vary with societal subcultures.
This article compares policy and practices for engaging older people in community life in Sweden and Australia. Barriers and support for active engagement through paid work, social activism, volunteering and aged services are compared. Both countries face issues of ageing populations, services for rural areas and people with small needs. Issues for Sweden were the absence of age discrimination legislation, availability of funds and lack of recognition of the growing levels of volunteering. Issues for Australia concerned the new managerialist approach to services, with associated complexities of access and limited social activism.
This study tests the possibility that attitudes to people with disabilities can be divided into two types: attitudes at the societal level and attitudes at the personal level. This distinction was made with the aim of clarifying ambiguities from previous research. One test of the proposed distinction rests on the assumption that personal contact with people with disabilities will influence attitudes at the personal level but not at the societal level. Sixty subjects were assigned to either a control group or intervention groups which experienced interventions involving a person with a disability. The attitudes of all subjects were measured one month before and at the time of the intervention. Data on prior contact were also collected. The results, which supported the two level approach, are discussed in terms of their implications for improving attitudes to people with disabilities.
A growing literature has sought to understand the relationships between religion, politics and views about climate change and climate change policy in the United States. However, little comparative research has been conducted in other countries. This study draws on data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey to examine the beliefs of Australian churchgoers from some 20 denominations about climate change—whether or not it is real and whether it is caused by humans—and political factors that explain variation in these beliefs. Pentecostals, Baptist and Churches of Christ churchgoers, and people from the smallest Protestant denominations were less likely than other churchgoers to believe in anthropogenic climate change, and voting and hierarchical and individualistic views about society predicted beliefs. There was some evidence that these views function differently in relation to climate change beliefs depending on churchgoers' degree of opposition to gay rights. These findings are of interest not only for the sake of international comparisons, but also in a context where Australia plays a role in international climate change politics that is disproportionate to its small population.
Johansson S, Leonard R, Noonan K. Caring and the generation of social capital: two models for a positive relationshipWhen caring is linked to social capital, it is generally assumed that the nature of the relationship is that social capital is a resource that can be used for care work. When there is inadequate funding of aged care services by the state, then social capital may be seen as a substitute for economic and human capital. Caring, therefore, is seen as a drain on capital. However, this does not have to be the case. Aged care services, if thoughtfully designed, can not only consume social capital, but also generate it. Two models of elder care, one Swedish and one Australian, have been identified which specifically address the generation of social capital. In each case, the services and facilities have been developed by third‐sector organisations with a strong community development focus, often in the face of resistance from state‐run or medically oriented services.
