bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trends and Causes of Cultural Modernization
Authors: Gerhards Jürgen , Hackenbroch Rolf
Published: March 2007

The empirical basis of our research forms a systematic content analysis of the birth register of a state registry office from 1894 to 1994. We interpret the development of first names as an indicator which measures trends of cultural change: we analyse (1) whether there are secularization processes (measurement: the amount of first names of Christian origin); (2) whether the importance of family relationship is decreasing (measurement: number of children who are named after their parents); (3) whether social class is losing its importance (measurement: homogeneity of names in social classes); (4) whether there are processes of individualization (measurement: heterogeneity of names); and (5) whether there are processes of globalization of culture (measurement: number of names from other cultures). In addition, we formulate possible explanations of these trends and test them empirically.
THE NEED FOR THE INDIGENISATION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Authors: Loubser Jan J.
Published: March 2007

A conceptual model is provided to enable any organisation to provide for the indigenisation of social science. Of central importance are recruitment of members, training of members, content of teaching and training, conceptions of desirable subject matter, conceptual or theoretical models, methods and techniques, media for dissemination and discussion of results, the incentive system of the community, main sources of research support, relations to national society. Achievement of indigenisation will depend partly on features of the nation-state, but national and international strategies can contribute through suitably structured governing bodies.
THE RECEPTION AND UTILITY OF MAX WEBER'S CONCEPT OF PATRIMONIALISM IN LATIN AMERICA
Authors: Zabludovsky Gina
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to examine the validity of Max Weber's theory of domination as applied to Latin America and its social and political structures.

The article concentrates on the advantages and risks involved when using the concept of patrimonialism to explain the authoritarian regimes of Latin American societies. To do this, the author examines how this concept has been applied for the study of the political organisation in different countries during various periods of time: the colonial era, the nineteenth century and contemporary societies.

Focused on terminological analysis, the paper shows the conceptual problems of classical sociological theory when used for the study of social realities that were not at all central preoccupations for the original European writers. The author points out two main causes for the ambiguities and multiple meanings of concepts 1) the partial and fragmented reception of Weberian sociology in Latin America and 2) certain confusion already present in Weber's studies.
Intercorporate Ties in Singapore
Authors: Zang Xiaowei
Published: March 2007

Sociological literature on corporate networks in the West has relied heavily on a resource dependency perspective. Research on inter-firm relations among Chinese firms in East and Southeast Asia has been guided by a Chinese network approach. Relying on a 1992 data set of 107 big Chinese firms in Singapore, I show that firm behavior of large Chinese companies is influenced by both Chinese business tradition and Western corporate culture. Exclusive attention to either the Chinese network approach or the resource dependency perspective may not produce an accurate estimate of the factors of interlocking in East and Southeast Asia. The best approach to take in studying Chinese business networks is a combination of the two theoretical frameworks, sensitive both to `impersonal' market forces and the `personal' nature of business conduct in Chinese culture.
Critical Theory and the Challenge of Globalization
Authors: Kozlarek Oliver
Published: March 2007

In recent years the concept of globalization migrated successfully from the discourse of the mass media into the realm of social theory and political philosophy. But this migration does not only evince the changes of economic, political and social realities, it also expresses the need to revise our theoretical toolboxes. Theory itself becomes the target of this scrutiny. Do we really need political and social theories, once the illusion of a well-organized social and political world has vanished? The answer to this question leads to critical theory. This article argues that theoretical reflection is important in order to establish a normative frame, which is indispensable in a situation of major political and social transformation. But also that a critical theory of globalization has to learn from the mistakes committed in the past. It has to accept more willingly the consequences of the awareness of plurality and accept the challenge to eliminate its Eurocentrism.
ARE SOCIAL CLASSES DYING?
Authors: Clark Terry Nichols , Lipset Seymour Martin
Published: March 2007

New forms of social stratification are emerging. Much of our thinking about stratification - from Marx, Weber, and others - must be recast to capture these new developments. Social class was the key theme of past stratification work. Yet class is an increasingly outmoded concept. Class stratification implies that people can be differentiated hierarchically on one or more criteria into distinct layers, classes. Class analysis has grown increasingly inadequate in recent decades as traditional hierarchies have declined and new social differences have emerged. The cumulative impact of these changes is fundamentally altering the nature of social stratification - placing past theories in need of substantial modification. This paper outlines first some general propositions about the sources of class stratification and its decline. The decline of hierarchy, and its spread across situses, is emphasised. The general propositions are applied to political parties and ideological cleavages, the economy, the family, and social mobility. These developments appear most clearly in North America and Western Europe, but our propositions also help interpret some of the tensions and factors driving change in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and other societies.
TWO PATTERNS OF GIRLHOOD: INCONSISTENT SEXUALITY-LADEN EXPERIENCES ACROSS INSTITUTIONS OF SOCIALISATION AND SOCIO-CULTURAL MILIEUX
Authors: Rapoport Tamar
Published: March 2007

The home, school and peer setting play a crucial role in processing socio-cultural conceptions of female sexuality (the social meanings attributed to the girl's sexual and reproductive capacity). This process is not necessarily consistent across institutions of socialisation; yet, notwithstanding growing scholarly interest in girlhood, little is known about institutional variations in sexuality-laden socialisation practices and experiences. The present research simultaneously examines the home, school and peer group experiences of girls from two different milieux, focussing on convergence or divergence between institutions, within and across groups. First-hand accounts of daily experiences, elicited through interviews of 50 teenage girls (advantaged and disadvantaged) studying in two innovative residential settings, suggest that the three institutions of socialisation generate divergent sexuality-laden practices and experiences, and thus that the profile of socialisation differs for each group of girls. The conservative understandings of sexuality generated by practices in the home and the female peer-group of disadvantaged girls were paralleled by progressive understandings in the innovative school. Conversely, it was the school which perpetuated conservative conceptions among advantaged girls, while their homes and female peers instilled progressive ones. An examination of such inconsistencies in gender socialisation can be expected to enhance the understanding of gender identity formation in adolescence. The revealed divergence between institutions within and across groups points to the limits of theories of social reproduction in explaining socialisation practices and experiences, particularly those related to gender socialisation.
GLOBALISATION AS HYBRIDISATION
Authors: Pieterse Jan Nederveen
Published: March 2007

Globalisation is usually interpreted as a process of homogenisation, but considering that there are multiple globalisation processes at work this is hardly adequate. Globalisation is also often tied up with modernity, which in effect equates globalisation with Westernisation, which is historically shallow and analytically narrow. This paper argues instead for viewing globalisation as hybridisation: structural hybridisation, or the emergence of new, mixed forms of cooperation, and cultural hybridisation, or the development of translocal mélange cultures. Theorising hybridity and reflecting on the politics of hybridity shows the varieties of hybridity, from mimicry to counter-hegemony. The other side of hybridity is transcultural convergence. Two distinct concepts of culture are in use: territorial and translocal, inward and outward-looking - which produce divergent views on cultural relations and globalisation. Hybridisation refers to the closed concept of culture and to its opening up, in the process ushering in post-hybridity. This is an argument for post-inter/national sociology of hybrid times, spaces and formations.
ORGANISATIONAL CONTROL IN CHINESE WORK UNITS
Authors: Xu Xinyi
Published: March 2007

Organisational control refers to any environmentally justifiable mechanism or practice which secures individual conformity to organisational order and specific role expectations. The present literature treats control as an instrumental means for the attainment of organisational goals and fails to address the subject appropriately in terms of its own structure, process and contextual underpinnings. This paper draws from the author's experience of two Chinese universities and discovers that an independent structure and a systematic process, justified by culture and buttressed by political economy, can exist and operate within organisations primarily for order and control. Basic features of organisational control in China include: a party apparatus following the track of and exerting control over administration or management to the basic functional cell, and an administrative mechanism and a residential network keeping people in line from workplace to residence; routine control of daily activities, contingency control for tasks and campaigns, and problem control for likely and actually occurring troubles; organisation-to-organisation and organisation-to-division control through exclusive meetings, classified documents, quota appropriation, rank conferment and appointment, and organisation-to-individual control through mass vigilance, inclusion, ideology, residence, civil rewards, confidential records, administrative discipline and quasi-justice. These structural and processual features are in tune with the Chinese culture and supported by the Communist political economy.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA: EMPTY REFORMS FROM ABOVE
Authors: Nehme Michel G.
Published: March 2007

This paper describes the impact that rapid economic change has had on the political evolution of Saudi Arabia from six different perspectives: 1. the institutionalization of the government; 2. loyalty with regard to the principal symbols of the government; 3. political liberty; 4. political participation; 5. absence of violence between different factions; 6. civil liberty. The Saudi Arabian experience would seem to suggest (a) that authoritarian forms of political power can be more effective and more easily justified in the first stages of economic development; (b) that the elite in power are not receptive to the progressive demand for a more democratic form of political organisation, and (c) that such a process of gradual transition from authoritarian to more democratic government could be delayed for a considerable time. In this sense, the political reforms known as `the Basic System of Rules', introduced by King Fayad in 1992 (as a consequence of the 1990 Gulf War) are nothing but empty reforms coming from above.
Civic Altruism and Social Policy
Authors: Giner Salvador , Sarasa Sebastián
Published: March 2007

The public sphere in contemporary democracies is occupied by `authorities', `enterprises' (groups pursuing their own interests) and `altruistic associations'. The latter possess an increasingly political dimension despite their frequent claim to be non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or non-political groups. Their increasing weight could change the texture of democracy and the orientation of social policies. The new public-private sphere created by altruistic civic associations is not, however, entirely autonomous. It is dependent on pressures and influences that endanger the benefits that these associations may otherwise bring to society and to the quality of citizen participation.
The Ethic of Self-Reliance and the Spirit of Capitalism in Russia
Authors: Brym Robert J.
Published: March 2007

Oleg Kharkhordin (1994) argues that most Russian industrialists adhere to a corporate ethic of mutual aid that facilitates the creation of financial and industrial conglomerates united in a national market. He also emphasizes that sustained capitalist development requires the rise of a new individualistic ethic of samostoyatel'nost', or self-reliance, which he finds growing among Russian businesspeople. Contrary to Kharkhordin's assertions, I demonstrate the persistence of collectivist sentiment among state enterprise directors on the basis of a 1994 Moscow-region survey. I then use survey data to show that in the adult Russian population as a whole, self-reliance was a much less popular norm in 1995 than it was in 1989. Finally, I analyse a 1995 survey of Russian adults in order to demonstrate that entrepreneurial Russians are not especially inclined to espouse the samostoyatel'nost' ethic. I conclude that certain social-structural continuities between the Soviet and post-Soviet periods partly account for the persistent weakness of the samostoyatel'nost' ethic among most Russians, including entrepreneurs. An ethic of self-reliance may be necessary for sustained capitalist growth in Russia, as Kharkhordin suggests, but so is a transformation of power relations more massive than has taken place to date.
The Moral Sense
Authors: Boudon Raymond
Published: March 2007

Many important social scientific theories develop a culturalist view of norms and values. Their proponents consider values and norms as cultural features that are endorsed or rejected by social actors because they have been socialized to them. Against these influential traditions, which all dissolve the reality of moral feelings and make them the effect of highly conjectural psychological or social forces, a naturalistic reaction inspired notably by sociobiology has appeared. Its growing influence is due to the fact that its criticisms of culturalist theories are solidly grounded. However, the naturalist response is also exposed to serious criticism. An alternative solution is proposed here: moral convictions are established in the same way as cognitive convictions, i.e. that the source of moral convictions lies in strong reasons. This can be illustrated by empirical examples. The cognitivist theory of moral feelings proposed here is not contradicted by the fact that moral convictions change over time, but can explain this change more easily than other theories. Furthermore, it clarifies the question as to the nature of the moral constraints that made Durkheim uncomfortable. This theory has a special relevance in today's world where `community' seems to become the ultimate moral referent. Clearly, the positive value ascribed to the idea of community is on a par with the fact that culturalism is so popular today.
The Project of Clinical Sociology in Quebec
Authors: Rhéaume Jacques
Published: March 2007

This article presents a historical overview of clinical sociology in Quebec, describing the basic theoretical assumptions of this approach. Cultural anthropology and social ethnography are looked at first, followed by theories of social intervention and psychosociology. From the 1980s onwards, clinical sociology appears to be an integrating framework for a diversity of theoretical views related to the study of social practices. Three basic characteristics of clinical sociology are emphasized: the relation of involvement between researchers and social actors, the relation to action and the notion of complexity as a theoretical point of view.
Handicapped People in China
Authors: Wenlin Zhou
Published: March 2007

The process of modernization in China is speedy and turbulent, requiring an effective solution to various social problems. The situation of handicapped people in China poses an increasingly serious social problem but publications on this subject are rare. This article outlines the author's proposals for how to remedy the problem, giving an initial outline and an analysis of the current state of handicapped people in China.
Values and Development in Asia
Authors: Quah Stella
Published: March 2007

Two city-states in Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore, are discussed as historical illustrations of different roles played by the state in the process of economic development and globalization. The analytical comparison is guided by a proposed set of five dimensions of the global city: the economic, political, administrative, socio-cultural and physical dimensions. The findings from the comparative analysis supported three assumptions: that the most realistic alternative for the economic development of the city-state is globalization; that state intervention is an important but not always a determining factor in the process of globalization of the city-state; and that the political dimension helps to explain the different paths toward globalization taken by Singapore and Hong Kong before the latter's transition into China's Special Administrative Region.
The Contribution of Sociology To Social Security
Authors: Sigg Roland
Published: March 2007

To date only a few sociological studies have been devoted to the study of social security, in spite of the fact that this major social institution increasingly finds itself at the centre of controversy in the political and economic arenas. However, in recent years there have been several international conferences at which the question of the potential contribution of a sociological approach to social security has been discussed. In this article the latest developments in this sociological perspective on social seeunty will be presented, as will the origins of this approach to social security. Attention will also be paid to various fields bordering on social security to which sociology has contributed through research, i.e. health, aging, the family, poverty. They will serve to illustrate the extent of potential sociological research in this area and its importance for social security. The evaluation of social welfare programmes is another field in which sociology may contribute to the effect of social policies on the reduction of social inequality. Finally, an analysis of the relationship between the institution of social security and society is sketched out with a view to a greater understanding of the role of this social institution at a time when the concept of Welfare State is being challenged.
Small Firms and Minority Groups: Contradictory Trends in the French, German and British Clothing Industries
Authors: Morokvasic Mirjana , Phizacklea Annie , Rudolph Hedwig
Published: March 2007

This paper shows how the French, British and West German clothing industries were faced by the late 1960s with virtually identical problems of declining international competitiveness. Nevertheless, within a supposedly common framework of European Community policy towards the clothing industry, the strategies adopted by the three countries have differed markedly in degree of emphasis. We suggest that the retention of a large 'secondary' sector of small firms, now dominated by ethnic minority male entrepreneurs and immigrant female labour in France and Britain has been crucial in slowing the pace of decline in fashion-oriented sectors of production. In contrast, the relative absence of such a sector in the FRG has been a contributory factor in the relocation of a far higher proportion of clothing production to third countries than is the case in either France or Britain.
Women and Work in Egypt: a Social Historical Perspective
Authors: Taplin Ruth
Published: March 2007

In contrast to the arguments expounded by some theorists who study the position of women in the Muslim Arab world, women in Egypt have been economically active in all facets of the national economy throughout history Their labour force participation and social status have been determined by their class and according to the five phases of economic development in Egyptian history. Previous to the rule of Mohammed Ali, women of the upper socio-economic stratum had limited labour participation, while peasant women were economically active throughout the five phases. The reforms of Mohammed Ali initiated a process in which it became a new ideal for women to be educated workers, beginning with the upper strata, and is now also a source of striving for women of the lower classes.
Can Gender Equality Be Institutionalized?
Authors: Inhetveen Katharina
Published: March 2007

Institutional innovation can be understood as launching an institution within an intact institutional and cultural context. Such attempts of guided institutionalization pose a crucial built-in problem. The goal of institutional innovation is to create new routine-reproduced, taken-for-granted behaviour patterns. The means to reach this goal is rational, purposive action, which is the very opposite of routinized enacting. This immanent contradiction of institutional innovation is discussed on the basis of a comparative study on the introduction of gender quotas in Norwegian and German political parties. The analysis draws on more than 50 qualitative interviews with parliamentarians from both countries. The case of quota rules seems paradoxical because the procedure itself, which is introduced in order to make equal political participation of both genders taken for granted, explicitly stresses gender difference. However, quotas are highly institutionalized in Norwegian political life, while they are still contested in Germany. It is argued that an important reason for this is the different cultural contexts. In Norway, `feminism of difference' represents values with which the procedure of quota regulations can tie in. The German emphasis on `feminism of equality' poses a hindrance to the establishment of quotas. Cultural launching values, which can function as structural carriers of behaviour patterns into acceptance and taken-for-grantedness, are identified as a crucial factor for institutional innovation.
Emerging Technologies for Verification of Arms Control Treaties
Authors: Hafemeister David
Published: March 2007

Progress in the technical means of monitoring to verify compliance to arms control treaties is discussed in the following areas: Real-time surveillance with charge-coupled devices in the visible and infrared; image enhancement with digital 1 image processing and with adaptive optics; imaging with radars based on satellites and on the ground; seismic monitoring with high frequency discrimination and with unattended in-country seismic stations; and nuclear weapons test monitoring with the global positioning satellite system.
Technological Literacy for Liberal Arts Majors:
Authors: Jones Russel C.
Published: March 2007

An invitational workshop held in 1991 focussed on technological literacy for liberal arts majors -- current programs and resources, and planning for future developments. The workshop concentrated on several interrelated topics: curriculum development, courseware available, attraction of students, faculty issues/logistics, courseware needed, consortium approach, funding directions, and stimulation of programs. It was concluded that a sufficient base of previous development and materials exist upon which to build expanded future programs. It was futher concluded that more technological literacy efforts are needed, and that engineering and liberal arts faculty must work together for their successful development.
Humanness Under Assault: An Essay Questioning Technology in the Classroom
Authors: Jones Steven P. , Smart Karla J.
Published: March 2007

This article names some of the human under standings and ways of being that are fundamental to teaching and learning, which new educational tech nologies, especially the computer, tend to remake, reduce, or replace altogether in K-12 classrooms. The article asks questions and tells stories about students, teachers, and the authors themselves using computers for educational purposes, investigating three particular uses of technology in detail. The authors argue that new educational technologies change the meaning of words common to teachers' vocabularies, especially words such as classroom community, knowing, and coming to know. The authors also argue that human senses used in learning are nullified, if not assaulted, by new educational technologies.
Computer Literacy, Technique, and Gender
Authors: Wilson Roy
Published: March 2007

This article concerns the curriculum of computer literacy (CL). A strong sense of technical necessity informs the design of the CL curriculum, and as a result, instruction is inadequate at best and dehumanizing at worst. CL curriculum and instruction are informed by a sense of technical determinism and a particular form of masculinity. This article draws mainly from the sociology of education, supplemented by personal observation. The article has two implications. First, to reduce the failure and frustration that many feel as they attempt to become computer literate, greater attention ought to be given in CL curriculum design to the concept of learning as enculturation and to cognitive context. Second, to counter the sense of necessity that leads designers and others to ignore culture and context, the formal CL curriculum must give serious attention to the social construction of educational technology/technique, especially the in fluence of gender.
Racial Socialization Messages and the Quality of Mother/Child Interactions in African American Families
Authors: Frabutt James M. , Walker Angela M. , MacKinnon-Lewis Carol
Published: March 2007

Racial socialization messages were examined within a particular ecological niche: two-parent, African American families with a child in early adolescence. The linkage between mothers’provision of racial socialization messages and family process components (e.g., communication, warmth, negativity, child monitoring, and involvement) of the mother/child relationship was examined. Sixty-six African American mothers and their early adolescent sons and daughters participated in videotaped mother/child interactions and completed questionnaires regarding family demographics and parenting. Based on the frequency of their provision of proactive responses to discrimination items, mothers were categorized into three groups (high, moderate, and low). Results indicated that mothers in the moderate socialization group exhibited the most positivity, were the most involved, and monitored their child’s activities the most. Mothers in that group also displayed the lowest levels of dyadic negativity. Mothers in the moderate socialization group had children who exhibited the most positivity and displayed the lowest levels of negativity.
The Father's Role in Sexual Socialization of Adolescent Females in an Upper and Upper-Middle Class Population
Authors: Hepburn Eileen H.
Published: March 2007

Because fathers have been found to be minimally involved in the transmission of sex information to their daughters, the role of the father in sexual socialization has not been systematically investigated. Forty-eight sets of parents and their teenage daughters were interviewed concerning the transmission of sex information and intrafamily communication about sexual attitudes and values. While fathers are seldom involved in the transmission of sex information to their teenage daughters, fathers in this sample were found to be successful in communicating sexual attitudes and values through impersonal, oblique discussion of sociosexual issues and the behavior of other people.
Student Responses to a Language Arts Test of Cognitive Functioning
Authors: Brazee Edward N.
Published: March 2007

A Language Arts Test of Cognitive Functioning was administered to seventh grade students to estimate levels of cognitive functioning in language arts tasks. The six tasks developed are based on Shayer's curriculum taxonomy: (1) interest and investigation style, (2) reasons for events, (3) relationships, (4) use of a model as a theory, (5) type of categorization, and (6) depth of interpretation. Student responses were analyzed and students were classified as concrete, transitional, or formal thinkers. When compared with results from Bumey's Logical Reasoning Test, students were generally rated lower in cognitive functioning on the LATCF. Of greater importance was the predictability of the LATCF for language arts thinking. Student answers in response to the six tasks elicited specific characteristics of concrete, transitional, and formal thinkers.
Changes in Student Participation in Different Instructional Settings
Authors: Ward Beatrice A.
Published: March 2007

The Junior High School Transition Study investigated student participation in regard to the ways in which students participated in elementary versus junior high school classrooms. Student participation data were taken from individual case descriptions of 24 target students. Student participation was described using six participation patterns identified in previous research. These were: (1) success/multitask, (2) social, (3) dependent, (4) phantom, (5) isolate, and (6) alienate. Findings indicated that a majority of the target students exhibited participation characteristics in grade seven that were similar to those they exhibited in grade six. The students who seemed to show the greatest variation in their participation characteristics in grade seven were those who were rated in grade six as dependent participants. Students who were rated as social participants in grade six continued to show these same patterns of participation in grade seven. However, in grade seven, these students also seemed to be able to complete their work successfully while interacting frequently with other students. As a result, the seventh-grade teachers often described these students as both social and success/multitask participants. The students who seemed to show the least tendency to modify their pattern of participation in grade seven were those who were rated as alienate participants in grade six. Both sixth-and seventh-grade teachers rated very few students as isolate participants. A feature of the seventh-grade classes that seemed to influence students' participation characteristics was whether the teacher established a flexible or rigid rule system. To be successful in these classes with a rigid rule system, students often had to be a phantom participant first and then show other characteristics.
Preparing Students for Junior High School
Authors: Snow William H. , Gilchrist Lewayne , Schilling Robert F. , Schinke Steven Paul , Kelso Cheryl
Published: March 2007

The entrance into junior high school is a critical but seldom studied event in the life of the adolescent. Little has been done to prepare youths for the transition. This study evaluated a skills building approach to prepare sixth graders for the entry to junior high. The curriculum was administered to two grade schools (n = 138) with two additional grade schools (n= 140) serving as controls. At the conclusion of post testing, youths in the skills training condition were more informed about junior high school, percieved themselves to be more prepared, and were better able to handle stress and peer pressure than the youths in the control condition. They used more direct refusals as a tactic in handling peer pressure, and were able to generate more options for dealing with tough situations. Generally, results of the study support claims of program effectiveness.
Babysitting: A Milestone of Early Adolescence
Authors: Kourany Ronald F. C. , LaBarbera Joseph D.
Published: March 2007

Babysitting can be viewed as an experience that provides adolescents with opportunities to develop and practice adult role behavior. The responses to questionnaries administered to 974 subjects indicated that sitters benefited from the development of parenting skills, the experience of early independence from adult supervision, and the opportunity to be financially remunerated for their work.
The Preferred Teacher: A Content Analysis of Young Adolescents' Writings
Authors: Veaco Lelia , Brandon Carla
Published: March 2007

Middle school students described preferred teachers in terms not unlike those used by Carl Rogers in his depiction of the client centered therapist or the person centered teacher. A characterization of the preferred or ideal teacher was derived from a content analysis of 1,305 students' statements. The young adolescents, ages 12 to 14 years, represented the preferred teacher as good-humored and non-threatening ("nice' was the most frequently used term); easy to talk to, willing to listen to his or her students (communicates well); as being fair, showing neither prejudice nor favoritism (accepting); and as respecting student needs, as providing a caring supportive atmosphere in the classroom (empathic support). Some gender differences were found: boys showed a stronger preference for male teachers than girls and girls' statements tended to be 50 percent longer than boys.
Judgments of the Features of Friendship among Early Adolescent Boys and Girls
Authors: Bukowski William M. , Kramer Thayer L.
Published: March 2007

Sex differences in children's impressions of the features of friendship were examined in a study of 201 fourth-grade and seventh-grade boys and girls. The subjects read descriptions of hypothetical pairs of boys and hypothetical pairs of girls, and rated each pair on a five-point scale according to the likelihood that they were friends. The characters in each dyad were described as being either similar or not similar to each other, helpful or not helpful to one another, and intimate or not intimate with each other. Both boys and girls made judgements about dyads of each sex, thus making it possible to assess differences between boys' and girls' friendship conceptions in general, and to consider differences in the ratings of the hypothetical boy dyads versus hypothetical girl dyads made by raters of both sexes. An examination of the subjects' ratings revealed (a) differences between the ratings of the similar and nonsimilar pairs, the helpful and nonhelpful pairs, and the intimate and nonintimate pairs, (b) stronger effects for intimacy among older subjects than the younger subjects, (c) stronger effects for intimacy in the ratings of the sentences with girl characters relative to those with boy characters, (d) stronger effects for similarity with the boy dyads than the girl dyads among the older subjects, and (e) interactions among the friendship features. These results are discussed in regard to the relation between social cognition and social behavior, and according to the nature of sex differences in friendship during early adolescence.
Gender and Socioeconomic Status Differences in Middle-School Computer Interest and Use
Authors: Miura Irene T.
Published: March 2007

Studies of educational computing have reported both gender and socioeconomic status (SES) differences in access to microcomputers and for their use in schools. Gender differences are usually related to student-oriented, motivational concerns, while SES differences in educational uses of the computer generally reflect institutional issues, such as the number and types of computers available and school-related uses of the machines. This survey measured computer interest and use for high- and low-SES middle-school students and examined motivational processes predicted to affect these outcomes. The results showed that there were both gender and SES differences for the outcome variables and for the processes predicted to affect them. Gender differences, however, were mediated by SES level of the students. The findings suggest that it may be important to consider gender and SES together when attempting to understand their effects on computer interest and use.
What is Rock Music Doing to the Minds of our Youth? A First Experimental Look at the Effects of Rock Music Lyrics and Music Videos
Authors: Greenfield Patricia M. , Bruzzone Lisa , Koyamatsu Kristi , Satuloff Wendy , Nixon Karey , Brodie Mollyann , Kingsdale David
Published: March 2007

This article reports the results of three preliminary studies of the cognitive effects of rock music lyrics and music videos. Study 1 indicates that comprehension of rock music lyrics develops with age and that lyrics are often misunderstood, particularly by young children who lack relevant world knowledge and are at a concrete stage of cognitive development. Study 2 shows that music videos provide less stimulation to imagination and are enjoyed less than the songs alone. Study 3, using different methods, confirms the negative effect of music videos on the imagination. The results of this study also demonstrate that a rock song, without any visuals, evokes and elicits more feelings than when it is part of a music video.
Variations in Conflictual Family Issues by Adolescent Pubertal Status, Gender, and Family Member
Authors: Papini Dennis R. , Sebby Rickard A.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to describe domains of family conflict and to examine variations in these domains by adolescent pubertal status, gender, and status as a family member. Sixty-three intact family triads completed an instrument designed to assess pubertal status and the Issues Checklist. Principal Factor Analysis with Varimax rotation resulted in the retention of seven factors accounting for 78.52 percent of the variance. Separate Stepwise Regression analyses were conducted for each factor (using factor scores) with adolescent pubertal status, gender, and status as a family member as predictors. Persistent Concerns and Appearance Issues were more disruptive in families with daughters than sons. Room Care and School Issues varied among family members. Leisure and Time Management Issues varied by adolescent pubertal status. Only Household Issues were unrelated to any of the predictor variables. In summary, the affective climate of the family can be characterized by a variety of conflictual domains, the intensity of which are related to adolescent pubertal status, gender, the role as a family member.
Integration of Internal Concepts and External Factors
Authors: Reyes Elba I. , Gallego Margaret A. , Duran Grace Z. , Scanlon David J.
Published: March 2007

An individual's development of concepts to represent situations or events in memory is contingent upon the relevancy of new information to the individual's existing concepts. Learning disabled (LD) adolescents have been characterized as not having the ability to effectively recall existing (internal) concepts and relate those concepts to new information. Comparisons were made among three interactive instructional strategies and a teacher-directed instructional strategy. The influence of integrating internal concepts with external factors in LD adolescents' learning was studied. Results indicated that students experiencing difficulties in developing new concepts benefited from interactive settings where cooperative efforts among peers and teachers are encouraged. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating internal concepts and external factors for learning.
A Longitudinal Analysis of Body Image as a Predictor of the Onset and Persistence of Adolescent Girls' Depression
Authors: Rierdan Jill , Koff Elissa , Stubbs Margaret L.
Published: March 2007

The importance of body image in early adolescent girls' depression was evaluated in a longitudinal study. Depression scores of over 500 girls were assessed twice, in the fall (TI) and spring (T2) of a school year, and four subject groups were identified: Persistent Depressed (depressed at Ti and T2); Remitting Depressed (depressed at Ti, nondepressed at T2); Onset Depressed (nondepressed at Ti, depressed at T2); and Stable Nondepressed (nondepressed at Ti and T2). Discriminant analyses indicated that body image at Ti was more important to the prediction of persistence of depression (i.e., to the discrimination of Persistent Depressed from Remitting Depressed girls) than to the prediction of onset of depression (i.e., to the discrimination of Onset Depressed from Stable Non depressed girls). Results therefore clarify the relationship between body image and depression and demonstrate the heuristic value of discriminating questions of onset and persistence of adolescent girls' depression.
Gender Differences in Adolescent Health Concerns and Self-Assessed Health
Authors: Alexander Cheryl S.
Published: March 2007

Gender has been shown to be an important variable in studies of health status and illness behaviors of adults. This study of 745 rural eight grade students examined gender differences in the reported health concerns, self-assessed health status, and illness behaviors of young adolescents. A 28-item health concern inventory was used to measure emotional, social, physical, and drug-related health concerns. For girls, emotional and social concerns were highly associated with poorer perceived health, while for boys, physical concerns differentiated those in fair or poor health from those who saw themselves as healthy. Physical concerns were significantly associated with reported school absenteeism due to illness, attendance of school when ill, and physician visits for both boys and girls. Emotional concerns were related to greater numbers of school days missed or days attended when ill for girls but not for boys.
Developmental Differences in Menstrual Attitudes
Authors: Stubbs Margaret L. , Rierdan Jill , Koff Elissa
Published: March 2007

Methodological limitations, both conceptual and statistical, have impeded the investigation of developmental differences in menstrual attitudes. In this study, these methodological problems were addressed in an effort to clarify whether group differences associated with two developmental variables -age and menarcheal status -were related to differences in the attitudes toward menstruation held by early adolescent girls. Findings were that young adolescent girls had two fundamental attitudes toward menstruation: Girls held a set of beliefs about menstruation as something normal and acceptable (Affirmation) and another set of beliefs reflecting their worry about and dislike of menstruation (Worry). No significant developmental differences were found for girls' Affirmation of menstruation; there was a significant association of menarcheal timing and girls' Worry about menstruation, with early maturers more worried than their on-time peers. Implications of results for pubertal education are discussed.
Understanding Family Contexts of Adolescent Coping
Authors: Hauser Stuart T. , Borman Emily H. , Jacobson Alan M. , Powers Sally I. , Noam Gil G.
Published: March 2007

Many researchers, including John Hill, have studied parental influences on adolescent development. This sty investigated one aspect of parental influence, ego development, and its relation to adolescent coping. Two different groups of early adolescents were studied, one group from a public high school and the other current inpatients at a psychiatric hospital. This study found that when independently assessed, parental ego development was related to numerous adolescent coping strategies. Findings were stronger for maternal ego development; and stronger still for maternal ego development within the high school sample. Possible explanations for these new findings about the interplay between family context and an important aspect of adolescent functioning are discussed, together with planned future longitudinal investigations that may shed more light on these results.
Achievement Orientation in Early Adolescence
Authors: Elmen Julie
Published: March 2007

Early adolescence is an important time during which to examine achievement-related concerns and behavior. In this article the development of several achievement-related phenomena-achievement motivation, fear of success, gender role ideology, and patterns of school performance-are discussed, as well as social correlates of achievement during early adolescence. The importance of considering curvilinear relations among variables is emphasized, especially with regard to developmental hypotheses involving psychological phenomena during adolescence.
Teaching Adolescent Development
Authors: Palmquist Wendy J. , Shelton Lawrence G.
Published: March 2007

Courses on adolescent development have changed considerably over the past 25 years, mirroring changes in the fields of psychology and human development. The course on adolescent development is particularly suited to illustrate cohort differences and the impact of sociohistorical context on individual development. Students tend to be personally involved in the content of the course, affording instructors special opportunities for effective teaching. It is possible to use students' direct experience in adolescence and their familiarity with the cultural images of adolescents to facilitate their intellectual development away from overgeneralized personal experience toward more relativistic thinking. The value of empirical studies and an objective scientific view can be brought directly to students' awareness. Active strategies such as free writing, journals, autobiography, case studies, and projects help connect the course content to students' own experiences.
Rules, Rule Behaviors, and Biological Maturation in Families with Seventh-Grade Boys and Girls
Authors: Holmbeck Grayson N. , Hill John P.
Published: March 2007

Mothers' and fathers' reports of rules and rule behaviors were examined in 200 intact families with seventh-grade boys and girls across three rule domains, both in terms of gender and parental differences and the manner in which rules varied across level of pubertal status. More rules were reported for family obligations and personal habits than for peer relations. Many parents reported that their children had some say in rule formation but relatively few parents had any recent occasion to remind or punish their children about the rules. Although no gender differences were found between boys and girls across the rule behaviors examined, parental differences suggest that mothers and fathers play different roles in rule making and in managing rule infractions and that these roles are in line with gender-related role expectations. Biological maturation was associated with rule frequency, but the findings differed for boys and girls.
Relations of Marital Satisfaction to Peer Outcomes in Adolescent Boys
Authors: Feldman S. Shirley , Wentzel Kathryn R.
Published: March 2007

This study examined relations of parents' marital relationship and parenting styles to concurrent and long-term peer-related outcomes in adolescent boys. Measures of the marital relationship included mothers', fathers', and sons' reports of the marriage. Peer outcomes included social impact and preference among peers in early adolescence and aspects of same-sex and opposite-sex relationships in mid-adolescence. Based on a sample of 62 boys and their parents, correlational results indicated that the quality of the marriage when sons were early adolescents was related significantly to peer outcomes at both points in time, with sons' perceptions of the marriage being the most consistent predictor Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that these relations were robust, even when taking into account harsh and inconsistent parenting. The role of parents' marital relationship in adolescents' lives is discussed.