Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Social Survey (social + survey)
Kinds of Social Survey Selected AbstractsWAGE PENALTIES AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION: AN UPDATE USING THE GENERAL SOCIAL SURVEYCONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 2 2009BRENDAN CUSHING-DANIELS This study uses data from the 1988 to 2006 General Social Survey (GSS) to examine the effects of sexual orientation on earnings. Previous research using the GSS has found that lesbians earn 18%,23% more than similarly qualified heterosexual women and that wage penalties for gay men are slightly larger than the premia for lesbians. Using behavioral definitions of sexual orientation based on the previous year and the previous 5 yr of sexual activity, we find the familiar wage premia/penalties for lesbian/gay workers in our ordinary least squares estimations, but we find that these wage differences are falling over time. Furthermore, in contrast to the earlier results, for our regressions over the entire sample period, correcting for differential selection into full-time work reduces the estimated penalties for unmarried gay men and eliminates the entire wage premium for all lesbians. There is now a sizeable, though imprecisely measured, penalty for some lesbians. (JEL J1, J3, J7) [source] IMAGES OF GOD AND PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: DOES A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH A LOVING GOD MATTER?,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 4 2006JAMES D. UNNEVER This study argues that the nature and intensity of a person's relationship with God creates a transposable cognitive schema that shapes people's views toward public policies such as executing convicted murderers. In this context, we investigate whether Americans who report having a close personal relationship with a loving God are less likely to support the death penalty. We hypothesize that such a relationship tempers the tendency to see punitiveness as an appropriate response to human failings. Individuals who hold a loving God image are more likely to believe that God responds to those who have "failed" or "sinned" by demonstrating unconditional love, forgiveness, and mercy. Accordingly, support for capital punishment is problematic because it contradicts the image of a merciful, forgiving deity; God's purpose,and admonition to believers,is to demonstrate compassion toward those who have trespassed against others. We test these possibilities using the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS). Controlling for a range of religious factors and other known predictors of death penalty attitudes, the results show that Americans with a personal relationship with a loving God are less likely to support capital punishment for convicted murderers. [source] ARGUING OVER [THE] REMOTE CONTROL: WHY INDIGENOUS POLICY NEEDS TO BE BASED ON EVIDENCE AND NOT HYPERBOLEECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 1 2007BOYD H. HUNTER Recent public debate on Indigenous issues has been provoked, inter alia, by a 2005 Centre for Independent Studies paper by Helen Hughes and Jenness Warin, who focused on the extent to which policies have been effective in improving the living conditions of Indigenous Australians since the era of self-determination commenced. Unfortunately, the quality of historical data is questionable, and hence we need an appreciation of the reliability of estimates. The 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey allows a detailed interrogation of the reliability of estimates. This paper critically analyses socioeconomic changes between 1994 and 2002 for remote and other areas by comparing the recent data with analogous data collected in 1994. Changes in health status and a range of socio-economic indicators are documented to provide a more balanced assessment of the level of economic and social development in the respective areas. [source] Immigration sceptics, xenophobes or racists?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 6 2008Radical right-wing voting in six West European countries Given how central the immigration issue has been for the new radical right-wing parties in Western Europe, many have turned to immigration-related factors in trying to explain their emergence and electoral mobilisation. This research has convincingly shown that immigration scepticism (i.e., wanting to reduce immigration) is among the principal factors for predicting who will vote for a radical right-wing party. However, earlier studies have often uncritically equated immigration scepticism with xenophobia or even racism. By using data from the first round of the European Social Survey (2003) involving six West European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Norway), this article differentiates between immigration scepticism and xenophobic attitudes. The analyses strongly indicate that xenophobic attitudes are a far less significant factor than immigration scepticism for predicting who will vote for the new radical right. Moreover, this article analyses the extent to which anti-immigration frames employed by radical right-wing parties resonate with attitudes held by supporting voters, and to what extent they make a difference for people's decision to vote for the radical right. The analyses indicate that frames linking immigration to criminality and social unrest are particularly effective for mobilising voter support for the radical right. Finally, the article criticises earlier research that explained radical right-wing voting with reference to ethnic competition theory. In contrast to much of the earlier research that used macro-level measures and comparisons, this study uses (self-reported) individual-level data on the degree of ethnic heterogeneity of people's area of residence. Hypotheses derived from ethnic competition theory receive less support than expected, which indicates that earlier research may have overestimated the significance of these factors. [source] Something about young people or something about elections?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 6 2007Electoral participation of young people in Europe: Evidence from a multilevel analysis of the European Social Survey A particular cause for concern is that young people are less likely to participate than older voters. Evidence presented in this article, based on national election results and the 2002,2003 European Social Survey, shows the overall turnout rate for 22 European countries in elections between 1999 and 2002 was 70 per cent compared to 51 per cent for electors aged less than 25. The authors examine national variations in turnout for young people across Europe, and use multilevel logistic regression models to understand these variations, and to test the extent to which they are attributable to the characteristics of young people and the electoral context in each country. Variations in turnout among young people are partially accounted for by the level of turnout of older voters in the country and partly by the characteristics of young voters, including the level of political interest and civic duty. The authors conclude that both individual-level and election-specific information are important in understanding the turnout of young electors. [source] Consumer morality in times of economic hardship: evidence from the European Social SurveyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 2 2010*Article first published online: 1 FEB 2010, Cláudia Abreu Lopes Abstract Crimes of everyday life, often referred to as unfair or unethical practices committed in the marketplace by those who see themselves and are seen as respectable citizens, have burgeoned as a result of the transformations in the European economy in the late 20th century, namely the transition to neo-liberal markets and the emergence of consumer society. A ,cornucopia of new criminal opportunities' has given rise to a new range of crimes such as ripping software, making false insurance claims or paying cash on hand to circumvent taxes. These shady behaviours (legal or not) are part of people's experience, albeit they are collectively regarded as morally dubious. Taken collectively, crimes of everyday life are indicators of the moral stage of a particular society and therefore a valuable instrument for social and political analysis. This paper addresses the question of whether and under which conditions feelings of economic hardship trigger crimes of everyday life. A multilevel theoretical and empirical perspective that integrates theories stemming from political science, sociology, and social psychology is adopted. I start by exploring the embeddedness of economic morality in social institutions, followed by an elaboration of the concept of market anomie to account for deviant behaviour in the marketplace, to finally step down to the examination of the correspondence between social attitudes and consumer behaviour, as postulated by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The empirical study relies on micro data from the European Social Survey (ESS) (Round 2) and attempts to model, for each country, a formative measure of crimes of everyday life based on socio-demographic variables and the current economic situation, as it is perceived by the individual (taken as a measure of relative deprivation). The resultant country-specific regression coefficients are mapped onto the broader economic and normative context of 23 European countries. The results reveal that crimes of everyday life are driven by feelings of economic hardship only in countries where normative factors dictate their deviance. In countries where fraudulent behaviour is more generalized, inner motivations to offend play a secondary role as the more privileged consumers are more likely to commit fraud as they interact more often with the market. In turn, normative aspects result from a dynamic interplay of cultural and economic factors. As the economy grows faster, the tendency to offend in the market becomes more visible, but only in countries whose gross domestic product (GDP) stands above the European average. In countries with low GDP, the normative landscape is shaped by cultural factors that seem to obfuscate the power of economic factors favourable to consumer fraud. [source] Understanding public attitudes towards Social SecurityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 2 2006Philip Yang There has been very little research on why individuals hold different attitudes toward Social Security. In this article we integrate social location theory and political predisposition theory to provide a framework of explanation and test these theories using a unique sample from the 1998 General Social Survey. Our multivariate results reveal that social structural positions along the lines of race, gender, class and age play a more important role than political predispositions in explain-ing individual differences in support for the current Social Security system against privatisation. Political party affiliation also partly contributes to variation in support for Social Security, but political ideology does not have a significant effect. Our results suggest that with regard to support for Social Security, primary consideration must rest on social structural positions. Racial minorities, women, the poor and the elderly tend to dislike a drastic change in the current Social Security system, and Social Security reform ought to pay attention to their concerns. Our robust finding of a positive relationship between age and support for Social Security also challenges much of the established knowledge, pointing to an intergenerational discord over Social Security. It is also important to differentiate among social welfare programmes in order to uncover the real determinants of public attitudes towards them. [source] Sources of Negative Attitudes toward Immigrants in Europe: A Multi-Level Analysis,INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Elisa Rustenbach In recent times, many nations are experiencing an increase in anti-immigrant attitudes on the part of natives. Most papers only explore one or two sources of anti-immigrant attitudes at a time, which provides an incomplete picture of the effects at work. This paper tests eight different explanations for anti-immigrant attitudes: cultural marginality theory, human capital theory, political affiliation, societal integration, neighborhood safety, contact theory, foreign investment, and economic competition. Analysis is conducted using combined data from the European Social Survey and Eurostat/OECD and individual-, regional-, and national-level predictors. Results indicate that key predictors of anti-immigrant attitudes are regional and national interpersonal trust, education level, foreign direct investment, and political variables. [source] Explaining Pro-Immigrant Sentiment in the U.S.: Social Class, Cosmopolitanism, and Perceptions of Immigrants1INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Jeannie Haubert In the U.S., research on attitudes toward immigrants generally focuses on anti-immigrant sentiment. Yet, the 1996 General Social Survey indicates that half the population believes that immigrants favorably impact the U.S. economy and culture. Using these data, we analyze theories of both pro- and anti-immigrant sentiment. While we find some support for two theories of intergroup competition, our most important finding connects a cosmopolitan worldview with favorable perceptions of immigrants. We find that cosmopolitans , people who are highly educated, in white-collar occupations, who have lived abroad, and who reject ethnocentrism , are significantly more pro-immigrant than people without these characteristics. [source] Religious Attendance and Happiness: Examining Gaps in the Current Literature,A Research NoteJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 3 2010Ellen Childs Two major gaps exist in research examining the positive association between religious attendance and happiness. First, scholars have argued that this association may be because of people's perceived relationship with God or the social cohesion one experiences with other parishioners, but scholars have not studied both pathways simultaneously. Using nationally representative cross-sectional data (General Social Survey), I first examine the influence of one's perceived relationship with God and one's perceived social cohesion within the religious community on happiness. One's perceived relationship with God is more strongly associated with happiness than is social cohesion. Second, scholars overwhelmingly use religious attendance as the independent variable, with happiness as the dependent variable. Using two waves of data from a nationally representative panel study (National Survey of Families and Households), I then examine the relationship between religious attendance and happiness over time, finding that religious attendance has a greater effect on happiness than happiness has on religious attendance. [source] A Power-Control Theory of Gender and ReligiosityJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 2 2009Jessica L. Collett The fact that women are more religious than men is one of the most consistent findings in the sociology of religion. Miller and Stark (2002) propose that a gender difference in risk preference of physiological origin might explain this phenomenon. While acknowledging the utility of their risk-preference mechanism, we believe that their assumption regarding the genesis of this difference is a premature concession to biology. Returning to Miller's original paper on gender, risk, and religiosity, we draw on power-control theory (PCT), developed in the work of John Hagan and colleagues, to introduce a plausible socialization account for these differences. We evaluate these claims using data from the General Social Survey. Women raised by high-socioeconomic status (SES) mothers are less religious than women raised by low-education mothers, but mother's SES has little effect on men's chances of being irreligious and father's SES has a negligible effect on the gender difference in religiosity. [source] Size, Conflict, and Opportunities for Interaction: Congregational Effects on Members' Anticipated Support and Negative InteractionJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 1 2009Christopher G. Ellison A growing literature examines the role of religious communities as sources of social support for members, and a smaller body of work also explores negative aspects of social relations within congregations. However, very little is known about the characteristics of religious groups that promote or impede the development of supportive networks. We use data from a unique source,the National Congregations Study, linked with individual records from the 1998 General Social Survey (GSS),to explore this issue. Key findings reveal that: (1) individuals who attend very large churches tend to report lower levels of anticipated support and informal negative interaction; (2) the presence of major congregational conflict tends to dampen anticipated support and increase informal negative interaction; and (3) the absence of a well-defined period for informal socializing before or after the worship service is associated with lower levels of anticipated support, but is unrelated to the frequency of negative interaction among church members. Several implications and promising directions for future research are discussed. [source] Moral Cosmology, Religion, and Adult Values for ChildrenJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 1 2007BRIAN STARKS We hypothesize that the religiously orthodox, who are theologically communitarian/authoritarian in seeing individuals as subsumed by a larger community of believers and as subject to timeless divine law, are more likely to value obedience in children over autonomy than are theological modernists, who are theologically individualistic in seeing individuals, not a deity, as the ultimate arbiters of right and wrong. We hypothesize further that differences in moral cosmology (orthodoxy vs. modernism) within faith traditions are more important for the values adults seek to instile in children than are differences between traditions. Through analyses of national data from the 1998 General Social Survey, we find strong confirmation of both hypotheses. Moral cosmology is the single-most important factor in valuations of obedience and autonomy in children. While evangelical Protestants differ from Catholics, mainline Protestants, and those with no religion in their values for children, moral cosmology is associated with differences in values for children within each of the faith traditions, including evangelical Protestants. We conclude that intra-faith differences in moral cosmology are key in explaining values for children, but have not completely supplanted interfaith differences. [source] Is Marriage More Than Cohabitation?JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 5 2009Well-Being Differences in 30 European Countries The study aims to assess, first, whether there is a gap in well-being between unmarried cohabitants and the married, second, if selection factors can explain this so-called cohabitation gap, and third, if the size of the cohabitation gap differs across countries and how this can be explained. We use pooled data from young adults (18,44) in 3 rounds of the European Social Survey (N , 31, 500). Multilevel regression analyses show that there is a moderate cohabitation gap that can be partly explained with the selection factors material resources and religiosity. Country differences were clear and could partly be explained with the level of institutionalization: In countries where cohabitation is more accepted and more prevalent, the cohabitation gap is smaller. [source] Religiousness and Infidelity: Attendance, but not Faith and Prayer, Predict Marital FidelityJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 2 2008David C. Atkins High religiousness has been consistently linked with a decreased likelihood of past infidelity but has been solely defined by religious service attendance, a limited assessment of a complex facet of life. The current study developed nine religiousness subscales using items from the 1998 General Social Survey to more fully explore the association between religiousness and infidelity. Interestingly, logistic regressions using currently married participants (N= 1,439) demonstrated that attendance, but not faith, nearness to God, prayer, and other religious attributes, was related to infidelity. Exploratory analyses also found that individuals with high religious importance but low attendance were more likely to have had an affair and weak evidence that marital happiness moderated the association between religiousness and infidelity. [source] Repartnering after first union disruptionJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 1 2005Zheng Wu Using data from the 1995 General Social Survey (N= 2,639), this study examines two competing repartnering choices made by Canadians after first union disruption: marriage or cohabitation. About 42% of women and 54% of men form a second union 5 years after union disruption, with cohabitation being the most prevalent choice. The timing of second union formation is more rapid among former cohabitors than among the divorced. Widowhood is an acute barrier to repartnering. Gender is the most crucial determinant in the repartnering process; men have a higher rate of second union formation than women. The hazard rate of second union formation also varies by age at union disruption, duration of the first union, prior fertility (for men only), education, employment, and religion. [source] Level of Concern and Precaution Taking Among Australians Regarding Travel During Pandemic (H1N1) 2009: Results From the 2009 Queensland Social SurveyJOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2010FACTM, FAFPHM, FFTM ACTM, FFTM RCPSG, Peter A. Leggat MD Background. Global disease outbreaks, such as the recent Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (the so-called Swine flu), may have an impact on travel, including raising the concerns of travelers. The objective of this study was to examine the level of concern of Australians regarding travel during Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 and how this impacted on their travel. Methods. Data were collected by interviews as part of the Queensland Social Survey (QSS) 2009. Specific questions were incorporated regarding travel and Pandemic (H1N1) 2009. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze associations between demographic variables and concern and likelihood of cancelling travel. Results. There were 1,292 respondents (41.5% response rate). The sample was nearly equally divided between males and females (50.2% vs 49.8%). Younger people (18,34 y) were under-represented in the sample; older people (>55y) were over-represented in the sample. About half (53.2%) of respondents indicated some level of concern about Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 when traveling and just over one-third (35.5%) indicated they would likely cancel their air travel if they had a cough and fever that lasted more than one day. When cross-tabulating these responses, people who expressed concern regarding Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 when they traveled were more likely than those without concern to cancel their air travel if they had a cough and fever lasting more than one day (44.7% vs 27.7%, ,2 = 33.53, p < 0.001). People with higher levels of education [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.651], people with higher incomes (AOR: 0.528) and people living outside of metropolitan Southeast Queensland (AOR: 0.589) were less likely to be concerned about Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 when traveling, and younger people (AOR: 0.469) were less likely than others to cancel travel if they had a cough and fever. Conclusions. Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 was of some concern to more than half of Queensland travelers. None-the-less, the majority of Queenslanders would not have postponed their own travel, even if they exhibited symptoms consistent with Pandemic (H1N1) 2009. [source] A Cross-National Comparison of the Internal Effects of Participation in Voluntary OrganizationsPOLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 1 2008Marc Morjé Howard This article draws on two recent and largely untapped sources of data to test empirically the Tocquevillian argument about the impact of involvement in civic organizations on individual attitudes and behaviors. Our analysis is based on two related studies , the European Social Survey (ESS) and the US ,Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy' (CID) survey , that incorporate innovative and detailed measures about respondents' involvement in voluntary associations in nineteen European countries and in the United States. These surveys provide us not only with rich individual-level data within a cross-national comparison, but they also allow us to develop and test a new measure of civic involvement that distinguishes between different levels of participation. After employing our ,civic involvement index' in pooled and individual country analyses, we find general support for the Tocquevillian argument. On average, those persons with greater levels of involvement in voluntary organizations also engage in more political acts, have higher life satisfaction and are by and large more trusting of others than those who do not. These findings highlight the general importance of actual involvement as opposed to nominal membership. [source] Spirituality and Public ServicePUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2007David J. Houston The common pronouncement of a career in public service as a "calling" echoes with a decidedly spiritual chord. However, the spiritual roots of public service have been ignored in much of the public administration scholarship. This essay examines the empirical connection between individual spirituality and participation in public service occupations. Data from the 1998 General Social Survey are analyzed to determine whether those in public service occupations are more spiritual than persons in non,public service occupations. The findings indicate that individuals in public service occupations, especially government-related ones, are in fact more spiritual in their attitudes than others. Moreover, belief in the notions of transcendence and compassion for others are more pronounced in public service employees. Finally, the experience of interconnectedness and life meaning is greater for those in the public service. [source] Physical activity trends in Queensland (2002 to 2008): are women becoming more active than men?AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 3 2010Corneel Vandelanotte Abstract Objective: Regular monitoring of population levels of physical activity is an effective way to assess change over time towards meeting public health recommendations. The objective of this study was to determine physical activity trends in Central Queensland over the period 2002 to 2008. Methods: Data was obtained from the Central Queensland Social Survey (CQSS) conducted annually from 2002 to 2008. A total sample of 8,936 adults aged 18 and over participated in seven cross-sectional surveys. Physical activity was measured using the Active Australia Questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used to examine trends in sufficient physical activity. Results: Averaged over all survey years 46.5% of study participants met national physical activity guidelines. A small significant upward trend was found for meeting physical activity recommendations across all years (OR=1.03; 95%CI=1.01,1.05), indicating that the odds of meeting the guidelines increased by an average of 3% per year from 2002 to 2008. Slightly more men than women met the activity guidelines (ns); however a significant positive trend in achieving sufficient activity levels was present in women only (4%). Conclusions and Implications: Although an increasing trend for sufficient physical activity was observed, overall physical activity levels in Central Queensland remain suboptimal and more efforts to increase physical activity are needed. The gender differences in physical activity trends indicate that men and women might need to be targeted differently in health promotion messages. The continuous monitoring of population levels of physical activity in Australia, which allow both state specific and international comparisons, is needed. [source] Betting on the evidence: Reported gambling problems among the Indigenous population of the Northern TerritoryAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 6 2009Matthew Stevens Abstract Objectives: To address a shortfall in evidence with which to justify gambling-specific interventions for the Indigenous population, we analysed two surveys (2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey and General Social Survey) that contain information on reported gambling problems for the NT. Methods: Estimates of reported gambling problems are presented for each state and territory by remoteness for the Indigenous and total population for 2002. Factor analysis was used to identify the relationship between gambling problems and other negative life events for the NT Indigenous and total population. Results: High levels of reported gambling problems were apparent for the Indigenous population particularly in the remote parts of the NT and Queensland. Gambling problems were associated with other stressors relating to social transgressions. Among the NT Indigenous population, gambling problems were correlated with levels of crowding, community involvement, personal and community violence and self-assessed health status. Conclusions: The high levels of reported gambling problems suggest that gambling is causing significant problems for Indigenous people. The multivariable adjusted associations indicate that gambling-related problems are intimately connected to a range of community contexts. Implications: Policies of intervention need to address broader social and environmental contexts that are intrinsically associated with gambling (and associated problems), in addition to public education in harm associated with gambling and provision of counselling services to assist problem gamblers. [source] Social Capital and the Care Networks of Frail SeniorsCANADIAN REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY/REVUE CANADIENNE DE SOCIOLOGIE, Issue 4 2009NORAH KEATING Le capital social a constitué un cadre important pour la conceptualisation de la place des liens sociaux dans la qualité de vie. La famille n'a pas fait partie des groupes d'intérêts dans les recherches sur le capital social. Néanmoins, dans le contexte de la recherche et de la politique publique sur le vieillissement, le discours contemporain sur les familles et sur les soins est congruent avec les hypothèses sur le capital social. Les auteurs s'inspirent de la documentation sur le capital social pour encadrer leur compréhension du capital social inhérent aux familles ayant des personnes âgées de santé fragile. Ils émettent l'hypothèse de leur capacité de bénéficier des soins des membres de la famille. Les données proviennent de l'Enquête sociale générale sur le vieillissement et le soutien social (ESG 2002) de Statistique Canada. Social capital has been a key framework in conceptualizing the place of social ties in quality of life. Families have not been among groups of interest in social capital research. Yet within the context of research and public policy on aging, the contemporary discourse on families and care is congruent with social capital assumptions. In this paper, we draw on social capital literature to frame our understanding of the social capital inherent in families of frail older adults, and hypothesize their abilities to benefit family members. Data are drawn from Statistics Canada 2002 General Social Survey on Aging and Social Support. [source] Satisfaction With Work and Family Life: No Evidence of a Cultural ReversalJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 1 2003K. Jill Kiecolt Hochschild (1997) argued that in recent decades the rewards of work have increased relative to those of family life and that this cultural reversal has aggravated the time bind that families face by increasing working hours. To the contrary, pooled data from the 1973,1994 General Social Surveys indicate that in working families, women have shifted away from finding work more satisfying than home toward finding home a haven. Moreover, were it not for women's growing labor force participation and the changing distribution of marital status, the shift would have been even larger. Men's relative work,home satisfaction has been stable. Finally, finding work a haven is unrelated to weekly working hours, and it has not contributed to any increases in working hours over time. [source] Welfare, Premarital Childbearing, and the Role of Normative Climate: 1968,1994JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 2 2002Amy C. Butler Nationally representative, longitudinal survey data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were used to examine the conditions under which welfare benefit levels affected the likelihood that low-income women age 15,24 bore their first child prior to marriage. Benefit levels had a positive effect on premarital childbearing during the 1980s and early 1990s but not during the 1970s or late 1960s. The effect of benefit levels was also stronger where community attitudes toward premarital sex were more tolerant than where attitudes were less tolerant, but this did not account for the varying effect of benefit levels over time. The study introduces a new way of measuring normative climate using attitudinal data from the General Social Surveys. [source] Free Speech and Multiculturalism In and Out of the AcademyPOLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2006Dennis Chong The debate over hate speech in the United States and the accompanying changes in the political culture of the university provides an opportune case to explore the impact of changing norms of free speech on political tolerance toward unpopular groups. I offer a theory of opinion change that identifies the population groups that should be most susceptible to the new norms against hate speech that originated on college campuses around the country in the 1980s. The predictions from this theory are tested using a battery of tolerance items asked repeatedly in General Social Surveys gathered between 1976 and 2000. The analysis shows that the intellectual campaign against hate speech has significantly reduced support for the free speech rights of racists. This retreat in levels of tolerance is most evident among college students who were educated since the mid-1980s, when debates over multiculturalism and political correctness reached their peak. At the same time, levels of tolerance for nonconformist ideas and lifestyles have remained generally high among today's college students and are almost always significantly higher than the national average. The general stability in aggregate levels of tolerance both in the general population and in various demographic groups only serves to highlight the few dramatic changes that have taken place. [source] Who Wants to Work for the Government?PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 4 2002Gregory B. Lewis In an era when everyone wants to be a millionaire, governments struggle to attract and retain highly qualified employees, making it more important than ever to understand what attracts people to the public service. Using contingency table analysis and logistic regression on the 1989 and 1998 General Social Surveys, we explore how individuals' demographic characteristics and the importance they place on various job qualities influence their preference for and employment in the public sector. Job security may still be the strongest attraction of government jobs, but high income and the opportunity to be useful to society also attract some Americans to the public service. Minorities, veterans, Democrats, and older Americans preferred public-sector jobs more than whites, nonveterans, Republicans, and younger Americans, who were otherwise similar. Women and college graduates were more likely than comparable men and less-educated respondents to have government jobs, but no more likely to prefer them. Overall, desire for government jobs declined markedly between 1989 and 1998. [source] The Informal Economy in Non-Metropolitan Canada*CANADIAN REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY/REVUE CANADIENNE DE SOCIOLOGIE, Issue 1 2006BILL REIMER L'auteur de cet article examine la relation existant entre les économies formelle et informelle, avec des apergus provenant de la recherche sur le Canada rural. L'économie informelle comprend la production, la distribution et la consommation de biens et services ayant une valeur économique, mais qui ne sont ni protégés par un code de loi formel ni enregistrés par des organismes de réglementation endossés par le gouvernement. Plusieurs allégations concernant l'interdépendance des deux économies sont formulées et testées en utilisant les données des Enquêtes sociales générates de 1992 et de 1998 sur l'emploi du temps. Les résultats confirment l'importance de l'economie informelle en tant que filet protecteur, tampon des changements structurels, constructeur de capacités et soutien de l'inclusion sociale. This paper discusses the relationship between the formal and the informal economies with insights derived from research on rural Canada. The informal economy is considered to be the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services that have economic value, but are neither protected by a formal code of law nor recorded for use by government-backed regulatory agencies. Several claims regarding the interdependence of both economies are developed and tested with time budget data from the 1992 and 1998 General Social Surveys. Findings support the importance of the informal economy as a safety net, buffer for structural changes, capacity builder, and support for social inclusion. [source] The effects of income imputation on microanalyses: evidence from the European Community Household PanelJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES A (STATISTICS IN SOCIETY), Issue 3 2006Cheti Nicoletti Summary., Social surveys are usually affected by item and unit non-response. Since it is unlikely that a sample of respondents is a random sample, social scientists should take the missing data problem into account in their empirical analyses. Typically, survey methodologists try to simplify the work of data users by ,completing' the data, filling the missing variables through imputation. The aim of the paper is to give data users some guidelines on how to assess the effects of imputation on their microlevel analyses. We focus attention on the potential bias that is caused by imputation in the analysis of income variables, using the European Community Household Panel as an illustration. [source] Attitudes towards globalization and cosmopolitanism: cultural diversity, personal consumption and the national economyTHE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 2 2008Ian Woodward Abstract One of the widely accepted consequences of globalization is the development of individual outlooks, behaviours and feelings that transcend local and national boundaries. This has encouraged a re-assessment of important assumptions about the nature of community, personal attachment and belonging in the face of unprecedented opportunities for culture, identities and politics to shape, and be shaped by, global events and processes. Recently, the upsurge of interest in the concept of cosmopolitanism has provided a promising new framework for understanding the nexus between cosmopolitan dispositions and global interconnectedness across cultural, political and economic realms. Using data from a representative social survey of Australians this paper investigates the negotiation of belonging under the conditions of globalization. The data tap into attitudes and behaviours associated with a broad gamut of cosmopolitan traits in the domains of culture, consumption, human rights, citizenship, and international governance. They show how cosmopolitan outlooks are shaped by social structural factors, and how forms of identification with humanity and the globe are fractured by boundaries of self and others, threats and opportunities, and the value of things global and local. [source] Trust, Inequality and Ethnic HeterogeneityTHE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue 258 2006ANDREW LEIGH Using a large Australian social survey, combined with precise data on neighbourhood characteristics, I explore the factors that affect trust at a local level (,localised trust') and at a national level (,generalised trust'). Trust is positively associated with the respondent's education, and negatively associated with the amount of time spent commuting. At a neighbourhood level, trust is higher in affluent areas, and lower in ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous communities, with the effect being stronger for linguistic heterogeneity than ethnic heterogeneity. Linguistic heterogeneity reduces localised trust for both natives and immigrants, and reduces generalised trust only for immigrants. Instrumental variables specifications show similar results. In contrast to the USA, there is no apparent relationship between trust and inequality across neighbourhoods in Australia. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||