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Volume 25, Number 2 (Autumn 1995)
Attitudes of Retired Men toward Conjugal Life: The Israeli Context
Liat Kulik
Compares the attitudes of preretired & retired Israeli men toward instrumental, normative, & expressive aspects of conjugal life - ie, balance of resources, attitudes toward gender roles, & emotional commitment toward the spouse, as well as conjugal power relations. Questionnaire data collected 1988-1991 from 348 respondents (Rs) reveal several differences between the preretired & retired Rs: The preretired Rs reported a greater advantage over their wives than the retirees in the area of health resources. In contrast, the retired Rs reported a greater power advantage than preretired Rs in the social aspect of marital life. Similarly, retired Rs reported a higher level of emotional commitment toward their wives than the preretired Rs, & their attitudes toward gender roles were more conservative. The differences between preretired & retired Rs were maintained even when the wife continued working after her husband's retirement. At the same time, the attitudes of the retired Rs toward conjugal life remained stable throughout the different stages of retirement. In light of these findings, several practical suggestions are proposed for family counselors dealing with couples in the later stages of marriage in the Israeli context. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 1-16]Subjective Well-Being of Chinese Urban Elderly
Li Li (School of Medicine, Wright State University, Ohio, USA)
Examines individual life satisfaction & well-being of the urban elderly in the People's Republic of China, drawing on survey data collected in Guangzhou from 520 respondents ages 60+. In examining how an individual's demographic & socioeconomic characteristics are related to perceptions of well-being & satisfaction of late life, it is revealed that income is the most important factor significantly influencing subjective well-being. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 17-26]American Criminals and Attitudes
Dennis J. Stevens (Mount Olive College, North Carolina, USA)
To examine the hypothesis that offenders idealize their attitudinal beliefs couched in present experiences, 419 incarcerated offenders in a maximum custody penitentiary in NY were surveyed; their attitudinal ideals were compared with their criminal frequency rates, their conviction records, & the attitudes of 269 college students. Findings suggest that attitudes are descriptions of feelings & have little if any relevance to previous behavior. Results imply that scholarly explanations of offenders provide description of behavior rather than truths about offender attitudes. Research is called for on the relationship between crimes committed in the heat of passion & motive. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 27-42]General Systems Theory and Structural Analysis of Correctional Institution Social Systems
Galan M. Janeksela (Wichita State University, Kansas, USA)
General systems theory & structural analysis are utilized as a conceptual framework for investigating the effects of norms, roles, & status positions on the daily operations of the correctional institution community, with focus on the inmate system. Structural variables useful in analyzing the correctional institution & its subsystems include: allocation, space, time, size, control mechanisms, scope, personality, consensus, spheres, & structural distance. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 43-50]Determinants of Job Satisfaction among Social Workers
Janet Armentor & Craig J. Forsyth (University of Southwestern Louisiana, USA)
Draws on survey data from 72 social workers in Lafayette, LA, to analyze sources of job satisfaction. Six independent variables are investigated: age, career tenure, job tenure, sex, salary, & whether Ss were in private practice or worked for an agency/organization. Moderately high levels of job satisfaction were found in this sample. Organizational determinants of variance are discussed. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 51-63]Relations of Attitudes to Self Systems and Ego-Involvements in Normative Reference Groups
Arthur F. Clagett (Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas, USA)
Explicates & relates the continuity of William James's subject-object relation to George H. Mead's attitudes, as the unit of analysis applied in his development of self theory. In turn, M. H. Kuhn's theoretical generalizations incorporate attitudes into interrelated status-role relationships that structure the self system, thereby making possible the empirical analysis of self. Also examined are the monumental works of Muzafer Sherif & Caroline Sherif & epitomized explications of their conceptualized self system, & their method of ordered alternatives for measuring ego involvement in reference groups. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 65-80]Legal Evolution and Violence: A Cross-Cultural View
Philip O. Sijuwade (University of Texas, USA)
Investigates the implication of legal evolution for social control, drawing on secondary cross-cultural survey data on 47 societies. The specific question posed is whether legal development diminishes violence within a society. It is found that the higher the legal evolution of society, the lower the violence within it. This relationship is not explained on the basis of societal complexity as a whole, or of political power or division of labor. Indeed, the relationship between legal development & internal violence is decreased by certain concomitants of legal evolution, eg, societal size & level of political integration. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 81-89]Tolerance for Drinking, Cultural Patterns, and Problem Drinking among Western Australian and Oklahoma Collegians
Stella P. Hughes & Richard A. Dodder (South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, USA)
Cultural differences in religiosity, age at beginning to drink, parental drinking & approval of drinking, & quantity/frequency of consumption were examined among college students from OK (N = 534) & Western Australia (N = 178). Questionnaire data indicate that legal & religious restrictions against alcohol usage were generally found to be greater in OK, but Western Australia exercised more stringent penalties against drinking. The 2 groups were similar in quantity-frequency of consumption, but OK Ss reported more problem behavior as a result of drinking. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 91-101]Thermodynamical and Quantum Theory Applied to Spiritual (Psychic) Condition of a Person
Nedjeljka Petric (University of Split, Croatia)
Although science & religion, based as they are on reason & faith, respectively, appear to occupy mutually exclusive terrain, an attempt is made to bridge the two areas of inquiry. A scientific approach to religion is constructed through a loose application of thermodynamics & quantum theory that seeks to delineate parallels in these scientific paradigms & the struggles of humans through the trials of love, hope, existence, joy, & their opposites - hatred, hopelessness, meaninglessness, & suffering. A mixture of Eastern thought & biblical references are then applied to humankind's spiritual essence. The spirit, which is akin to the wave pattern of the electron in search of the right or good path, is ultimately free & infinite, although restricted by the physical body. Thus, the Christian (or good) life is created from within & not imposed from outside. [Int. Rev. Mod. Sociol. 25(2), 1995: 103-113]