bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of Sex Differences in Economic Activity and Mental Health in Scandinavia
Authors: Haavio-Mannila Elina
Published: June 2008

In this preliminary study, sex differences in first admissions to mental hospitals in Finland, Norway, and Sweden are examined against the background of changes in the economic activity of men and women in 1939-1976 Hypotheses denved from earlier studies about the beneficial effect of meaningful economic activity on the mental health of women get some support from macro-level inter-country and historical comparisons. Also, women's growing awareness of their problems, expressed through the feminist movement, has helped them to solve their mental difficulties outside hospitals.

Men seem to be more vulnerable than women to crisis situations like war and rapid structural change in society. During such crisis periods the sex ratio in mental hospital first admissions declines to the disadvantage of men. Before definite conclusions of the direct relationships between social changes and the mental health of the sexes can be made, studies at an individual level are needed.

Ecological correlations between female/male ratios in mental hospital residency and the economic development of an area are positive. This is mainly due to the low hospital residency rates of men in the developed areas, where both sexes share the economic provider roles. Paid work among women seemingly does not threaten the mental health of men.
Explorations in the Demography of Language: Estimation of the Language Composition of Families and their Children, Finland, 1970
Authors: de Vries John
Published: June 2008

The paper reflects an attempt to construct the composition of families in Finland by linguistic category, on the basis of published tabulations in the 1970 Census of Population. The method is, in essence, the solution of twelve equations, with twelve unknowns. The findings allow one to make inferences about fertility, family formation and family structure, by main language, for Finland. Moreover, some inferences may be made about the relative prevalence of bilingual families and their fertility in urban and rural areas of Finland. Finally, there are some recommendations about future tabulation requirements for the Finnish census data on families and households.
Decision-making and Organizational Turbulence
Authors: Axelsson Runo , Rosenberg Lennart
Published: June 2008

A theoretical model of organizational decision-making in turbulent situa tions is developed on the basis of the organizational literature, and illus trated empirically from a study of Swedish educational organizations. The model is formulated under an assumption of rationality, but quite a differ ent kind of rationality from that in traditional theories of decision-making. The empirical illustrations are multimethodological, and include a com parative study and a case study as well as an episode of action research. They give a certain empirical support to the model, but also illuminate some of the practical difficulties to be resolved in connection with further research.1
Review Article : From Oddball Research to the Study of Real Life: The Use of Qualitative Methods in Social Science
Authors: Roos J.P.
Published: June 2008

This review essay* has two aims: to present recent literature in which qualitative 'soft' research methods are either discussed or used, and, secondly, to try to make general conclusions about the use of these methods and their relevance for social research and theorizing.

Two of the books are essentially methodological guides in which the techniques are discussed and exemplified. Four are examples of such qualitative techniques and their uses, going from a rather simple biogra phic analysis to an ambitious social scientific analytic scheme in which the qualitative method has been used, in principle, as a comparable method.
The Emergence of Participatory Policies for Community Development: Anglo- American Experiences and their Influence on Sweden
Authors: Miller T. , Kraiisliaat R.
Published: June 2008

In all three countries, the adoption of participatory policies by govern ments can be traced back to certain aspects of post-war capitalist de velopment - concentration, structural change and, concomitantly, an extensive increase in state intervention. More directly, the introduction of participatory policies in the U.S. during the 1960's is interpreted as a partisan strategy in response to social stress, and is linked to the particular forms of local politics. In Britain, planning participation was perhaps more a result of development bottlenecks and informational needs of govern ment. The comparatively weak impact of citizen participation concepts on governmental policies in Sweden is explained by differences in the forms of local politics and by the relatively less severe nature of social stress and conflicts in urban development.
Impact of Technological and Market Changes in Organizational Functioning: The Conceptual Framework in Bourgeois and Marxist Theory and Research*
Authors: Mortensen Nils
Published: June 2008

It is argued that important parts of conventional organization theory have severe conceptual shortcomings when studying changes in organizational functioning in the context of societal change. For example, technological and market changes are misconceived when seen in terms of environment, complexity, or uncertainty. In contrast, Marxian theory of work and morganization is presented. It is argued that Marxian theory provides a more valid conceptual framework both in the study of the interplay of technological and market changes in societal change and in the study of the impact of technology and market in organizational functioning. At the end, the conceptions of Marxian theory are concluded in a number of concep tual clues for empirical research studies.
Welfare State and Reproduction of Labour Power: Notes on the Effect of State Policy on the Structure of Reproduction
Authors: Hansson Finrt
Published: June 2008

This presentation outlines a theoretical analysis of the reproduction of labour power in contemporary capitalism. The starting point is the critique of political economy as developed by Marx, especially the analysis of the forms of reproduction in capitalism. As wage work (Lohnarbeit) is seen as the central determining aspect of reproduction, a short exercise is made outlining the dominant types of problems of reproduction connected with the two main types of capital accumulation in the theory by Marx: exten sive and intensive. A short theoretical discussion of state intervention in the reproduction of labour power is given. The last part of the article is not an empirinal analysis but a demonstration of how the theoretical concepts in discussion make it possible to grasp the more fundamental changes in the structure of reproduction, and shows how to analyse the new and specific forms of appearance for the general contradictions in capitalism, making state policy more complicated but leaving the central relations in capital unchanged.
Social Mobility in Industrial Labor Markets
Authors: Stinchcombe Arthur L.
Published: June 2008

Labor market barriers can be defined as a preference by employers for people experienced either in their own firms, or in similar work in other firms. Such barriers follow industrial lines, especially in industries with skilled workers and high mobility. The employers' preferences in turn give the experienced workers extra returns. Mobility data from Norway, analyzed by a new industrial classification, show the effects of labor market barriers on mobility and earnings.
Social Mobility and Class Structuration1
Authors: Aberg Rune
Published: June 2008

The long tradition of empirical studies on social mobility has given us a rather comprehensive knowledge of that process. The relevance of this knowledge to class structuration is the main problem discussed in this article. Social mobility viewed as a phenomenon creating blurred class boundaries and a low level of class structuration is questioned. It is argued that the effects of social mobility are highly conditional. Primarily as a result of the decline in the farming population, a relative increase in the number of white-collar workers, and weaker market capacity for certain white-collar groups, the character and effects of mobility may change. These changes may in turn facilitate the acceptance of socialistic values among white-collar workers as well as create greater homogeneity among manual workers. Social mobility in the future is not assumed to be an obstacle, and may even contribute to a higher level of class structuration where the relevant working class is composed primanly of salaried employees and not just manual workers.
An Essay on Some Concepts in Stratification and Mobility
Authors: Qvortrup Jens
Published: June 2008

The essay criticizes the prevalent conceptual apparatus of stratification and mobility for not coming to terms with social development proper. Some inherent logic is acknowledged, given the presuppositions, but because of their inadequacy the field under scrutiny comes to be charac terized by groups, the social nature of which is questioned. The merging of remnants from political liberalism and 'American' values in an influential sociological vocabulary is criticized. To be considered are central var iables such as income and occupation, and the relationship between the conception of equality and the principle equality of opportunity. As a critique of methodology I am accusing the current approaches of severe restnctions, both as regards the unwarranted exclusion of certain research objects, and in terms of level of analysis, since only the level of distribution is taken into account.
Formation of Young People' s Orientation towards Work
Authors: Titma Mikk
Published: June 2008

This article considers the problem of the formation of young people's value orientations towards the main spheres of life activities. Every sphere of life has objectively, independently of a person's intentions, some im portance in an individual's life in any society. Work is evaluated among other spheres of activity by members of society on the ground of its objective significance in the way of life peculiar to the society concerned. To measure the orientation towards work most broadly is to investigate the evaluation of work in correlation with other spheres of life activities. This concept has been applied in this article presenting the results of an empirical research carried out among young people in the Estonian SSR. The author used data from nine empirical surveys covering more than 14 000 respondents. The analysis shows that getting familiar with work in the practical process of production is most important in moulding an orientation towards work. The factoral analysis reveals the role work plays in a broader orientation towards social activity in all the main stages of a young person's self-determination. This orientation towards social activity, however, can be regarded as a synthetic framework in which an even broader sphere of social values participates.
Legal-Administrative Reforms and the Role of Social Research
Authors: Gustavsen Bjørn
Published: June 2008

Reforms emerging from the political authorities are generally expressed in a hierarchy of rules specifying how society is to be structured. When research is asked to support such reforms, it has to be naturalistic re search. Consequently, social research has come to play a very limited role in relation to reform efforts on the level of society. As the shortcomings of the traditional reform model are becoming increasingly more apparent, new ideas about reform, based on developing active participation from those concerned, are emerging. This alternative generates a new and more fruitful basis for social research, and places this type of research in the centre of efforts at social reform.
Control and Self-confidence as Reflected in Sex-bound Patterns in Communication: An Experimental Approach
Authors: Blakar Rolv Mikkel , Pedersen Tove Beate
Published: June 2008

Very little of the recent research on 'sex and language' has contributed much to our understanding of the actual nature of these phenomena. There has been a failure to adopt a communication perspective, and the impact of the situation has been ignored. This present study assesses the verbal communication of the four possible dyadic sex combinations (male → male; male → female; female → male; female → female) in two apparently similar, but in reality highly different communication situations, in that while the first is simple and straightforward, a communication conflict is induced in the latter. Whereas the traditional stereotypes concerning 'sex and verbal communication' are clearly reflected in the first situation, a radically different pattern is exposed in the conflict situation. The different sex-bound patterns of communication efficiency across situations are discussed within the framework of general communication theory in terms of the participants' confidence (in self and other) and their manner of exerting control.
Collection Type and Integrated Type Curricula in Systems of Higher Education. An Empirical and Theoretical Study
Authors: Jacobsen Bo
Published: June 2008

The study aims at uncovering basic structural characteristics of contem porary higher education seen in its relation to society. Two types of higher education, the collection type or firmly structured system and the mteg rated type or loosely structured system, are contrasted theoretically and empirically. The empirical study, which was carried out in two radically different Danish university disciplines (Medicine and Danish), has a sup portive function in relation to the chief aim of the work, which is theory development. The analysis distinguishes between four levels: society, institution, teaching situation and the level of the individual. Marked differences between the two systems are found on every level, among which structural boundanes for teaching methods are accounted for, as well as differences m the personalities of the two groups of students. The relations between the four levels are traced. The manifest and the latent structural characteristics of the systems are described.
On the Origin of Ideology
Authors: Schmid Herman
Published: June 2008

Starting from a critique of Durkheim and Althusser a theory of the genera tion (production) and reproduction of ideology is developed. In a primary process practice gives rise to spontaneous ideology. In a secondary pro cess of sedimentation and elaboration social forms and systematic ideologies act back on the primary process. Hegemonic ideology ex pressing ultimate values and Weltanschauung is related to class ideology, political and religious ideology and to spontaneous forms of conscious ness.
Work and Sickness — Ideology and Law
Authors: Hetzler Antoinette
Published: June 2008

The article, by presenting an on-going research project, 'Economic re muneration for diminished working capacity', discusses work, sickness and ideology and attempts to introduce theory and method of reading accounts which suggest ideological changes. The possibility of changing the meanings of the concept of work and sickness by legislatively pairing the concepts m reform legislation in Sweden is analyzed.
Housing in Iceland: Inflation Helps those who Help Themselves
Authors: Jóhannsson Ingi V. , Sveinsson Jón R.
Published: June 2008

This paper describes the housing system in Iceland and relates to results from a 1979 housing survey in the Reykjavik area. Because Icelandic housing policy leaves it largely to individual families to buy or build their homes on their own, it leads to an owner-occupancy rate of over 95 percent for families of couples who are over 35 years old. Tenants are a distinct minority group, consisting on the one hand of the most underprivileged people in Icelandic society, and on the other hand of the youngest families - those who have not yet had time to build or buy their own dwelling. Young people in the process of acquiring their own dwelling often have to make an excessively great effort in the course of a few years. It is quite usual, however, for them to receive considerable assistance from their larger extended family, which in Iceland still has vital social functions. Currently, the housing system as described in this paper is going through fundamental change, and predictably a future housing policy will strive more towards collective solutions and away from the hitherto dominant individual ones.
A Materialistic Concept of Planning and Participation
Authors: Flyvbjerg Bent , Petersen Verner C.
Published: June 2008

Planning and participation are concepts which can be interpreted in different ways. Traditional planning theory offers mostly subjective-idealistic interpretations. These interpretations are not very helpful in answering why ideas, methods, and practices of planning appear as they do. A prerequisite for answering such questions is a theoretical understanding of the relationship of planning to social totality, i.e. to basic political, social, economic and ideological conditions. Capital-logic and ‘structure-logic’ theories of social structure and development offer frameworks for analysis. Both, however, lead to functionalist explanations, and imply mechanical determinism. A more dialectical conception is necessary, emphasizing both the objective and the subjective aspects of planning and development.
Citizen Participation in Land and Water Use Planning
Authors: Thelander Anna-Lisa
Published: June 2008

During the last fifteen years many citizen actions and protests against planning issues have occurred. In most cases they have taken place late in the planning process, quite close to the realization of a plan. Forms of action have been used which quickly get publicity and engage new members through e.g. strikes, demonstrations and occupations. These methods are often unacceptable to the politicians in the planning process and confrontations are unavoidable. The purpose of this article is to discuss methods of how to identify and encourage citizen participation in physical planning. The pilot area for the research project is southwestern Skåne, mainly the Kävlinge river basin with the Vomb lake, a controversial area as regards land and water use.1
Regulating Togetherness
Authors: Haugen Inger , Holtedahl Lisbet
Published: June 2008

Two problems are discussed - first individually and then in relation to each other: (1) Women's regulation of local interaction systems, and (2) the methodological problem of acquiring and processing information about interaction. Data collected by participant observation in a former fishing community in Northern Norway are compared with data from a suburban block town in Southern Norway. In both environments, the creation, shaping and delimitation of neighbourly contact patterns require considerable work, by women especially This work is increasing with increasing social differ entiation and regional mobility Registering their own problems in the gathering and interpretation of data, the authors attack the veiled subjectivity of objectivated science.
On Modern Confidence
Authors: Sellerberg Ann-Mari
Published: June 2008

This article builds on Georg Simmel's thesis that confidence is a most important synthetic force in modern society Its vitality is strengthened in the urban society based on anonymous relations In the rural society con fidence was based on personal information: in trading, retailer and customer knew each other and whom they could not trust Today confidence is based on non-personal information, on consumer laws, declarations of contents, and various technological devices. The article explores the changing basis of confidence and shows how various cues are used to manage modern confidence.
Society Made Visible - on the Cultural Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu
Authors: Sulkunen Pekka
Published: June 2008

In this article the cultural sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, one of the most eminent contemporary French sociologists, is reviewed and discussed. Orig inally a structuralist anthropologist, Bourdieu has developed a critical soci ology of cultural forms. His methodological point of view is at one and the same time anti-functionalist, anti-empiricist and anti-subjectivist. The cul tural forms of the practices of everyday life cannot be reduced to needs' of the individual any more than to the functional imperatives of the collec tivity They take the form of irreductible symbolic expressions, the meaning of which are not directly apparent to the subjects Yet the subjects are not determined by the collective institutions in their practices The central concept, 'habitus', aims at combining the subjective and the culturally determined collective elements in these practices. The substantial proble matic of Bourdieu's sociology is to show how the cultural forms are expres sions of the structure of domination in society. The most flamboyant realiz ation of this problematic is his recent work La Distinction. which makes visible the system of class domination in modern France. It is a systematic study of the cultural forms in which this domination is revealed in the way of life of different classes and class fractions. This article aims to locate both Bourdieu's methodology and his interpretation of the cultural forms in modern France in the French intellectual scene as well as in the context of the sociology of culture in general.
Universal Pragmatics and Historical Materialism
Authors: Árnason Jóhann P.
Published: June 2008

The two key components of Habermas's research programme are the theory of communicative action and the theory of sociocultural evolution. They converge in the analysis of world views and their transformation. The 'pace-setting' role of world views in the evolutionary process is based on their progressive thematization of the structures and horizons of social action This logic of growing insight' culminates in the fully differentiated modern world view. To avoid relativistic implications. Habermas proposes to ground the core of modern interpretative systems- the distinction between external nature, society and internal nature - in general presuppositions of communication, as well as in the general conditions of existence of the human species This project lays itself open to two kinds of criticism: it can be shown that Habermas relies on a selective and artificially' closed image of modernity, and that he subsumes the anthropological context of com munication and production under this preconceived model.
Elementary Knowledge: Transcendental Pragmatics without Consensus Theory and Ideal Community of Communication
Authors: Bernsen Niels Ole
Published: June 2008

Three theses common to Jurgen Habermas's 'Universal Pragmatics' and K. O. Apel's 'Transcendental Pragmatics' are examined and related wews of the Erlangen School considered (1) that there are valid 'transcendental' arguments, (2) that four validity claims concerning intelligibility truth, nghtness and truthfulness are presupposed in all argumentative discourse and entail the concept of an ideal community of discourse as something which ought to be realmed, and (3) a consensus theory of truth, reality and nghtness Thesis 3 and the larger part of 2 are rejected A non-classical version of 'transcendental' arguments is proposed, assuming the existence of elementary, established knowledge of realny as a foundation for science.
Applied versus Basic Social Research: a Question of Amplified Complexity
Authors: Nafstad Hilde Eileen
Published: June 2008

The tasks, working situation, and professional role assigned to applied social scientists are analysed. The processes of basic and applied social research are systematically compared, and it is demonstrated how applied social research has to meet all the cnteria of traditional basic research as well as the specific criterion of social relevance. The problem of how to develop adequate critena for evaluating applied social research is addressed. The widespread downgrading of applied social research is analysed in the context of the lack of adequate criteria for evaluating applied social research on its own premises.
Status Attainment in Urban and Rural Labour Markets
Authors: Listhaug Ola , Ringdal Kristen , Ingebrigtsen Oddbjøm
Published: June 2008

The article reports on a study of status attainment in urban and rural labour markets. The model includes the following variables: occupational status of father, mental ability, education, occupational status, and income. The data were collected from a cohort study of Norwegian males The main results document that a status attainment model of the Wisconsin type gives different results for groups that have had their life courses in an urban as compared to a rural labour market. The findings can thus be used as an argument for the inclusion of structural characteristics of society in models of social mobility.
Norwegian Sociology: Social Rebellion and/or Professional Participation?
Authors: Løchen Yngvar
Published: June 2008

Sociology in Norway has a rich history. It has become a strong academic discipilne, and it has been an active social critique. The conditions under which it has operated now seem to be changing Unless sociology finds an answer to the new challenge, it might become less potent and provocative than before.
Sociology in Shorts: Sociology as Obsessional Neurosis
Authors: Bergryd Ulla
Published: June 2008

In a character analysis of mainstream sociology in Sweden the compulsive character is found to be similar to the characteristics of the behaviour of the rigorous empiricist The choice of paradigm in Swedish sociology is seen as a reaction to smallness. The relationship between social democracy and sociology is described as an unfortunate combination of great expectations and castration anxiety. The identity crisis of sociology in the 1970's is assumed to have two possible outcomes Regression or maturation. Finally there is a vision of a Sociology, of passion.
Some Themes in the Analysis of the Anatomy of Contemporary Capitalist Societies
Authors: Urry John
Published: June 2008

In this paper I explore some aspects of the rotations between social structures and social struggles, within the context of an overall conceptualisation of the anatomy of capitalist societies. I argue that such societies should be viewed as comprising three interdependent and dissimilar sets of social relations, the economy, civil society and the state I then examine some of the interrelations between social struggles and changes in social structures. I analyse in particular the logic of collective class actions, and the variety of unintended consequences of such actions.
A Critique and Reformulation of the New Urban Sociology
Authors: Kemeny Jim
Published: June 2008

It is argued that Marxian urban sociology as developed in the last decade requires substantial reformulation if it is to make any further progress. The problem with the approach is that although the new urban sociology was founded on a Marxist critique of traditional urban sociology its analytical perspective has remained economistic. Crucially, this has resulted in the concept of class being neglected as a result of having been displaced by a focus on basic economic processes, such as the declining rate of profit and the changing organic composition of capital, in relation to urban structure. The need is argued for more sociological dialectical analysis rather than abandonment and reversion to Weberian analysis.
Review Essay : Social Theory and Modern Logic: Reflections on Elster's Logic and Society
Authors: Wilson Thomas P.
Published: June 2008

This essay selectively reviews some major issues implicit in Elster's Logic and Society In particular, Elster's reliance on the utilitarian model of the actor as the basis for general social theory, his assumption that modal concepts can be reduced to extensional ones, and his adoption of the natural science model raise fundamental problems for his general approach Con sequently, despite the fact that many of Elster's discussions of particular examples are instructive and provocative, the work overall is disappointing.
The Patriarchal Heritage and the Working-Class Women
Authors: Dahlström Edmund , Liljestrom Rita
Published: June 2008

The debate on women's emancipation has reached an impasse of similarity between men and women and has arrived in the backwater of female distinctive character. What generates this oscillation between self -sacrificing 'common' interest and the assertion of women's particular interests? Both these orientations are reasonable if it is kept in mind that domination of men originates in the heritage of the patriarchy that preceded industrial capitalism Today, the personal subordination in the rule of masters has changed into the abstract order of the market This was a very gradual process and it is only during the after-war penod that the traditional patn archy has disappeared. But the culture of market is still dominated by men. Socialistic and liberal ideologies start from the assumption of the similarity between men and women and from the fact that they prevent the articulation of contradictions between men's and women's interests By asserting their distinctive character, women have brought out the societal claims of human reproduction partly at the expense of their position in production. The social-democratic woman's movement has followed its party brothers when promoting home-working wives and honouring women's wage work. It is only dunng the last decade that working-class women have begun to question the leadership of their party men.
The Uses of Alcohol and Their Cultural Regulation
Authors: Mäkela Klaus
Published: June 2008

Alcoholic beverages have multiple objective uses that can be analyzed to some degree independently of prevailing cultural attitudes. Three main uses which are directly based on the physical properties of beverage alcohol as a substance are identified: nutritional use. medicinal use and use as an intoxicant The following physical properties of beverage alcohol are singled out for discussion. medicinal effects, caloric content, liquid state, taste and intoxicating effects. The use of alcohol as a gift and for sacral purposes are examples of the derived uses that are based on its cultural meanings rather than on its physical properties In consuming alcohol, its nutritional, med icinal and intoxicating effects are always simultaneously present. Thus the different uses interact on the level of drinking behavior without distinct boundaries The histoncally dominant use is of prime importance, however, from the perspective of the dynamics of cultural regulation. Restraining the side effects of nutritives is different from domesticating an intoxicant. Cul tures in which nutritional use is of little historical importance are faced with the latter task In a critique of Pittman's typology, it is argued that Italy and France, on the one hand, and the Jews, Scandinavians and Camba, on the other, are variations of two basic types with regard to alcohol. In Italy and France, the nutritional use of alcohol is historically dominant, but the French have developed more tolerant attitudes towards the intoxicating side effects of wine Among the Jews, the Scandinavians and the Camba alike, alcohol is an intoxicant, but these three cultures have developed alternative nor mative solutions for the regulation of its use.
Class and Gender: A Note on Class Structure in Norway and USA
Authors: Mjøset Lars , Petersen Trond
Published: June 2008

This paper employs Wright's class-scheme and data from Nonvegian and American level of living surveys (1973/1980) to investigate the question of class and gender It is found that women to a larger degree than men occupy class positions with limited control over resources and little supervision A comparison with US data confirms the well-established finding that such inequality seems to be a general feature of Western capitalist societies. The most significant developments over time (1973-1980) in Norway are: a shrinking petty-bourgeoisie and an increase in the manager/ supervisor group. These structural changes are stronger in Norway than in the US It is found that the possibility of reaching a managerial/supervisory position cannot be reduced to individual characteristics such as age or education Being a woman is in itself a disadvantage for those striving for upper positions in the capitalist hierarchy of control. This has not changed throughout the 1970s.
Caregiving in the Welfare State
Authors: Haavio-Mannila Elina
Published: June 2008

Changes in the care given by the family, social networks and the state to children, the elderly and the sick have been examined empirically on the basis of 744 personal interviews conducted among urban population aged 25-64 years in Finland in 1981. Sources of help in solving conjugal crisis, problems with teenage children and financial problems were investigated according to sex and age of respondents. Also type of confidants in personal troubles was questioned Caregiving to children during day-time, care of the elderly and the sick have increasingly been taken over by the state (shown by companson between the situation in respondent's own childhood and the present). It is still mainly women who perform the caregiving functions in society, nowadays often as paid work instead of as unpaid work. Women give and receive outside help more than men, who tend to keep problems inside the family. For example, women have more confidants than men, who feel they can talk out troubles only with their wives.
Review Essay : The Evolution of Health Care Systems in England, France and Germany in the Light of 1848 European Revolutions
Authors: Vagerö Denny
Published: June 2008

A public health movement and a movement to reform medical science were linked to the larger social reform movement of the 1840's in Europe. It included demands for sanitary reforms, public health legislation, large scale social reforms, a reformed organization of medicine as well as a new basis for medical science. It emphasized prevention, epidemiology and social medicine rather than clinical medicine. The victory of the political reaction after 1848 led to a senous setback for these developments, set the stage for the evolution of modern health care systems, and determined some major features of health care systems still present This idea is discussed, based on a re-reading of Rosen, Stevens, Boenheim as well as on a recent study by Pelling and some other material. In modern medical sociology texts it seems largely overlooked.
Societal Transformation in Norway and Change in the Life Course Transition Into Adulthood
Authors: Featherman David L. , Sorensen Annemette
Published: June 2008

Since World War I Norway has been transformed from a predominantly rural into a highly industrialized urban society, making it an ideal site for examining the relationship between industrial change and the temporal organization of the life course. This paper is part of a comprehensive effort to understand the histoncal and societal circumstances under which age becomes a more or less important basis of social organization. Using con tinuous event histories for ages 14 through 29 for cohorts born in 1921, 1931 and 1941, we analyze the allocation of person months to states that define markers of life course transitions into adulthood. Age-specific allocations of time activities are assessed, and the degree of age-grading and sequentialitv of life events such as being in school, being marned, and becoming a parent are compared for the three cohorts.
Social Fluidity in France and Sweden
Authors: Portocarero Lucienne
Published: June 2008

The term 'social fluidity' is to be understood as intergenerational occu pational mobility net of direct structural effects, i.e. effects of differences in the marginal distributions of the mobility tables. Though not entirely adequate in the case of women, the terminology of earlier studies of class mobility is retained to simplify the task at hand, namely to complement the picture of the stratification process in the occupational system obtained from intergenerational mobility data regarding men In this paper, log-linear models are used to test possible outcomes to the questions: Do men and women in the same nation have the same pattern of social fluidity? Do women/or men have the same pattern of social fluidity cross-nationally? Is the relation of women's to men's patterns of social fluidity the same cross- nationally? On the basis of data from France and Sweden the first two questions are answered in the negative, though one may be impressed by how small differences are and how important structurally induced variation is. The last question may well be answered affirmatively.
Classes in the United States and Sweden : A Comparison
Authors: Ahrne Goran , Wright Erik Olin
Published: June 2008

In spite of the basic similarity in the overall shape of the class structures of Sweden and the United States, there are some real differences as well In particular, the American class structure is characterized by a higher pro portion of managers and supervisors than the Swedish class structure. whereas the Swedish class structure has a higher proportion of 'semi-auton omous employees' The central objective of this article is to map out the details of these differences in class structures and to offer some provisional explanations One of the basic conclusions will be that the similarities of class structures are to be explained primarily economically, while the dif ferences are explained politically.
The Development of Development Theory
Authors: Hettne Björn
Published: June 2008

The article summarizes the development of development theory from its early economistic and eurocentric phase to the present more interdisciplinary and global debate, particularly in the wake of the so-called dependency school In this context a number of contemporary theoretical trends are distinguished and their relevance is briefly discussed It is shown that many of these trends take as their point of departure the dependency problem atique and the article concludes that the questions raised by the dependency school were and still are relevant, although the answers and remedies sometimes were less than adequate.
Myths and Realities of Role Incompatibility of Women Scientists
Authors: Luukkonen-Gronow Terttu , Stolte-Heiskanen Veronica
Published: June 2008

This study aims to gain new insights into the relative importance of 'role incompatibility' in combining a career in science and marnage and a family as an explanation of women's unequal position in science The life histories of women scientists, their family responsibilities and professional partici pation in the scientific community are examined on the basis of empirical data. The data are from a survey of a sample of junior research fellows of the Academy of Finland, which include both women and men, on the one hand, and letter responses to a newspaper announcement by a heterogeneous cross-section of women scientists, on the other The results are reviewed in the light of international findings. Companson of married and single female and male scientists suggests that there is no incompatibility between a scientific career and a family as such. On the contrary, even though family obligations bring an extra work-load for women, marriage seems to have a positive effect on the professional life of women scientists. Married female and male scientists seem professionally more active and productive than their single colleagues.
Women in the Swedish Class Structure 1910-1975
Authors: Sjoholm Tommy
Published: June 2008

This work is part of a project entitled 'Sverige under socialdemokratin' ('Sweden during Social Democracy') headed by Professor Goran Therborn The project has been financed by Humanistisk samhallsvetenskapliga for skningsradet (Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences) 'Gender-division [is] crucial for explication and understanding of social organisation and social change' (Therborn 1981b:48) Under the influence of feminist research in the last decade, the importance of gender-division for research in the social sciences has been recognized In spite of this, however, the most basic work has still to be done - women's relations with the class-structure, directly and indirectly, and its historical variations. This article shall be been as a first step in this work1
Renal Ca2+ + Mg2+ ATPase in Congestive Heart Failure Due to Diabetes
Authors: Sahai Animesh , Weiser Steven J. , Ganguly Pallab K. , Ganguly Pallab K.
Published: June 2008

The authors have previously shown that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) mediates its cellular effects in part by changes in Ca2+ homeostasis in kidney cortex and that Ca2+ + Mg2+ ATPase is linked to ANP receptors, being reciprocally modulated by the guanylate cyclase system. The present study was designed to examine the status of this coupling in diabetes-induced congestive heart failure and the effect of its alterations on the functional integrity of the renal cell. Ca2+ + Mg2+ ATPase and guanylate cyclase were tested in hypertensive-diabetic rats (D+H), which develop congestive heart failure (CHF) at ten weeks following streptozotocin (65 mg/kg) injection and abdominal aortic constriction. The ATPase activity was measured by the release of 32P from [γ-32P]ATP in the medium. While the guanylate cyclase activity was decreased very rapidly in the hypertensive-diabetic group, the sensitivity of the Ca2+ pump to ANP was increased at an early stage (three weeks) and decreased at a late stage (ten weeks) of CHF.

The authors conclude that a defect in coupling between the Ca2+ pump and the ANP-receptor system as observed in the D + H group may contribute to the development of nephropathy and CHF.
Compliance Changes in Venous Insufficiency
Authors: Rooke Thom W. , Sutor Bruce , Heser Jane L.
Published: June 2008

In 37 patients (69 limbs) referred to Mayo Clinic's Vascular Center for possible venous valvular insufficiency in the lower limb, calf muscle pump function, calf compliance, and venous refilling times were measured by strain gauge plethysmography techniques. Patient limbs were separated into four categories based on 90% refilling time (T90) following fifteen deep knee bends: normal (n =16), mild/moderate (n = 28), severe (n = 16), and edema of nonvenous origin (n=9). Pump function was assessed in actual pumping volumes (mL) and in percent pumping volumes (mL/100 mL), and was reduced in all noncontrol categories. Calf compliance was assessed in actual volume change (mL/mmHg) and in percent volume change (mL/100 mL/mmHg) and was increased in the severe reflux category. Ten study patients had 1 normal category limb and 1 reflux category limb. Paired analysis of these limbs showed pump function to be decreased and calf compliance to be increased in the diseased group limbs.
Cardiovascular Effects of Nifedipine in the Dog
Authors: Johnson Melvin A. , Hamlin Robert L. , Lyons Cheryl D.
Published: June 2008

This study was designed to measure certain cardiovascular effects of 2 or 11 μg nifedipine/kg body weight given intravenously to dogs anesthetized with fentanyl-droperidol-pentobarbital. Parameters measured were: cardiac output, stroke volume, stroke work, systemic arterial pressure and vascular resistance, splenic weight (a measure of venous capacitance), and fractionation of cardiac output to many tissues. In response to doses of nifedipine, systemic vascular resistance decreased, cardiac output and flows to most organs increased, and heart rate, stroke work, and splenic capacitance were unchanged. The flow to the diaphragm increased more than that to other organs.
Surface Electrocardiogram in the Detection of Myocardial Ischemia During Percutaneous Coronary Angioplasty
Authors: Katsaris Georgios A. , Tsaritsaniotis Evagelos I. , Tsounos Ioannis P. , Panisois Kostas D. , Katsaris Ioannis A. , Kaprinis Ioannis K. , Roussis Stefanos X.
Published: June 2008

The purpose of this study is to examine how frequently myocardial ischemia was manifested on the surface electrocardiogram (ECG) during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and to select the most sensitive leads for the duration of ischemic ST changes. The study population consisted of 126 patients (pts), 116 men and 10 women, who underwent PTCA for one-vessel coronary artery disease. A 12-lead ECG was recorded in all patients before inflations and at ten-second intervals during each inflation. ST segment deviation, R wave amplitude, and rhythm disturbances were analyzed on all ECG tracings.

Ischemic ST changes occurred in 114 pts (90%), 80 with left anterior descending (LAD) artery occlusion, 22 with right coronary artery (RCA) occlusion, and 12 with left circumflex (LCX) artery occlusion (p < 0.01 LAD vs LCX, p < 0.01 RCA vs LCX). Angina pectoris occurred in 74 pts (59%) and coincided with ST changes in 68 of these pts (92%). No significant changes of R wave amplitude were found during balloon inflations. The most sensitive ECG leads for detection of ST elevation were V2 or V3, V4 and V 1 for the LAD, leads aVF and II for RCA, and leads III, aVF, or II, and V6 for LCX. The best leads for detection of ST depression were III, aVF and II for LAD, V2 or V3 and aVL for RCA, and V2 or V3, V1, and V4 for LCX.

In conclusion, surface ECG represents a simple and very sensitive method for myocardial ischemia monitoring during PTCA. However, in laboratories in which a 12-lead ECG may not be available, a system of three appropriately selected leads for each coronary artery can be used to provide adequate accuracy.
Acetylcholine-Induced Myocardial Ischemia Without Epicardial Coronary Artery Spasm: A Possible Vasospasm of Small Coronary Arteries—A Case Report
Authors: Sekiya Michihito , Okayama Hideki , Suzuki Makoto , Kobayashi Takamasa , Matsuoka Hiroshi , Sumimoto Takumi , Hamada Mareomi , Hiwada Kunio
Published: June 2008

Small-vessel vasospasm has been speculated upon as a possible cause of chest pain in patients with normal-appearing coronary angiograms. In this report, a patient who experienced typical chest pain during acetylcholine testing, which caused ST segment elevation without epicardial coronary spasm, is presented. This finding suggests that small-vessel vasospasm may be involved in the induction of myocardial ischemia in patients with normal epicardial coronary arteries.
Reversal of Gangrenous Lesions in the Blue Toe Syndrome with Lovastatin A Case Report
Authors: Cabili Shaltiel , Hochman Israel , Goor Yoav
Published: June 2008

A seventy-six-year-old man with ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and chronic renal failure developed bilateral cyanotic toes, which upon muscle biopsy, were shown to be caused by atheromatous emboli. The probable source was atheromatosis of the abdominal aorta. The toes became gangrenous, but surgical therapy was deferred because the patient was considered a high risk. With lovastatin therapy there was complete healing and except for transient cyanosis related to temporary cessation of therapy, there has been no recurrence for the past thirty months. The possible role of lovastatin in the conservative treatment of this disorder is discussed.
Takayasu's Arteritis: Low Corticosteroid Dosage and Pregnancy—A Case Report
Authors: Del Corso Laura , De Marco Salvatore , Vannini Alessandro , Pentimone Ferdinando
Published: June 2008

The authors describe a case of Takayasu's arteritis in a twenty-five-year-old Italian woman, characterized by

• nonspecific symptoms (weakness, arthralgias, fever) and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate

• early onset of these symptoms at the age of about twenty-three years

• early diagnosis, only eighteen months after the onset of symptomatology

• absence of progression of the disease under corticosteroid therapy with a follow-up of three years

• uneventful pregnancy ending in cesarean section and birth of a baby without maternal and neonatal complications.
Angioplasty for Treatment of Takayasu's Arteriopathy: Case Reports
Authors: Essop M.R. , Rothlisberger C. , Skoularigis J. , Sareli P.
Published: June 2008

Two cases of Takayasu's arteritis with severe renovascular hypertension are described. Both patients underwent successful percutaneous balloon angioplasty with attenuation of the systemic hypertensive response. The role of angioplasty as an alternative to surgery for revascularization of symptomatic ischemia in this disease is reviewed.