bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Violence in American Literature
Authors: Davis David Brion
Published: June 2007

The frequency of fighting and killing in American literature is not necessarily proof of an unusually violent so ciety, but literary treatments of violence have reflected certain historical conditions and circumstances. The growth of popular literacy created a mass audience whose attention could best be held by suspense, surprise, and startling contrast. The Revolution provided a model for later fiction in which the hero's triumph was not a blow against authority but rather a defeat of the Tory, who defied the sacred rules of the compact. This convention gave expression to a fear of factionalism and anarchy, and to a desire to identify one's own interests with a tradition of self-sacrificing unity. The ideal of social unity might conflict with the ideal of a self-sufficient and self- relying individual, but later writers projected the image of the individualistic hero into the vacant spaces of the West, where his violent acts were devoid of social consequence. Although both proslavery and antislavery writers tended to see the Negro as a pacific being, he has become a focal point of violence in twentieth-century literature. In the twentieth century, Amer ican writers have assimilated the older traditions of individual istic and racial violence to an antirationalistic philosophy which looks on violence as a regenerative or creative force, or as a symbol of reality.
Violence: A Neglected Mode of Behavior
Authors: Bettelheim Bruno
Published: June 2007

Despite Freud's recognition of man's tendency towards aggression and violence, our educational system pro ceeds as if these tendencies exist neither in society nor in man. Therefore, our children do not receive any help from our schools in recognizing the omnipresence of the tendency to act with violence, nor in techniques for dealing with it in con structive ways. In the following paper, examples are presented on how education to learn to read, for example, could proceed much more successfully if our teachers would take cognizance of children's fascination with thoughts of violence and aggres sion, and teach them both to recognize this and to deal with it.
Aggressive Crimes
Authors: Beattie Ronald H. , Kenney John P.
Published: June 2007

The lack of adequate statistical compilations in the United States makes it very difficult to assess trends in aggressive crime or other types of criminal offenses. An ex amination of the Uniform Crime Report data for the past seventeen years indicates much lower increases in aggressive crime rates than in property-crime rates. At the same time there was no increase in the murder rates. California statistical data show similar differences between the crimes of personal violence and property crimes, the former ris ing at a much slower rate than the latter. The fact that there is no breakdown of general-offense groupings which will disclose the degrees of seriousness within the offenses reported is a grave handicap toward assessing the real crime situation. It is suggested that a good part of the rise in crime rates may be the result of the increased reporting of offenses at the lower end of the serious scale in all types of criminal offenses. The fact that murder rates had not increased further supports this hypothesis. Until there is developed a complete information system of criminal justice within each state which will ac curately account for and describe offenses, offenders, each step in the process of the administration of justice, and the areas of correctional treatment, there will never be available the needed basis for determining with any degree of exactness what are the real trends in the various kinds of criminal offenses.
Violence on the Fanatical Left and Right
Authors: Forster Arnold
Published: June 2007

Political violence—or, more properly, ideological violence—has gone hand in glove with political or ideological extremism through every period of American history. It has been the necessary weapon of the far-right crusaders and the far-left revolutionaries who, rejecting the electoral and con stitutional processes of democracy, reach for a swift, clear, decisive alternative. Historically, both have failed in their purposes—while spilling much blood in their efforts—a failure due not so much to the course they have pursued as to the course they have rejected.
The Demography of Immigration to the United States
Authors: Rubin Ernest
Published: June 2007

The United States is the only major world power today that owes its existence primarily to the phenomenon of immigration. That this country is a nation of immigrants is a well-known commonplace. What is not so obvious is that the character of immigration, since colonial days, has been a dynamic process, ethnically and demographically. The purpose of this exposition is twofold: to describe the demographic pattern of immigration and its qualitative and quantitative effects upon the national population, and to examine the reasons for the developments in the migration flow. The volume and the composition of immigration depend upon changes occurring in the United States as well as in the sources of immigration. Perhaps the principal influence on the immigration stream was the successive passage of restrictive legislation in the United States between 1882 and 1924. The effects of this legislation have continued down to the present. Demographic and political developments in the traditional sources of immigration, particularly in Europe over the last half-century, have also shaped the character of the migration flow to this country.
The Immigrant Worker
Authors: Mott Frank L.
Published: June 2007

Immigration has been a continuing source of needed manpower for the American economy during almost all periods of its history. During earlier periods, it provided large numbers of semiskilled and unskilled laborers needed to maintain our industrial revolution. At present, many immigrants are contributing their badly needed skills and professional talents to our increasingly complex economy. It is anticipated that this pattern, of immigrants matching their skills with the needs of our labor market, which has proven so beneficial to the immigrants themselves as well as to our economy, will continue into the future.
Immigration and the Department of Labor
Authors: Cassell Frank H.
Published: June 2007

The October 3, 1965 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act require aliens seeking permanent admission to the United States for employment to obtain prior certification from the Department of Labor that sufficient United States workers are not available for the work the alien is to perform and that admitting the alien will not adversely affect United States workers. The scope of the new certification responsibility, which is considerably broadened under the new statute, pertains to third-preference, sixth-preference, and nonpreference immigrants from quota countries as well as immigrants from the Western Hemisphere. In most cases other than immigrant workers qualified in the professions, sciences, and the arts, a job offer from a United States employer is required to be filed with a local office of a state employment service. Certifications are issued by the eleven Bureau of Employment Security regional offices and by the United States Employment Service national office in Washington, D.C. In the seven months since the new legislation became effective (December 1, 1965), the Department of Labor issued over 23,000 immigrant worker certifications to the Departments of Justice and State. About 60 per cent of these involve professional, technical, managerial, and skilled occupations.
The Immigration and Nationality (McCarran-Walter) Act of 1952, as Amended to 1965
Authors: Bennett Marion T.
Published: June 2007

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 was the product of the most extensive Congressional study of the subject in the nation's history. The Act codified and brought together for the first time all the nation's laws on immigration and naturalization. It continued and enlarged upon qualitative restrictions; revised but continued the national-origins quota system of immigrant selection in effect since 1929; eliminated race and sex as a bar to immigration; Western Hemisphere immigration was continued quota-free; quota preferences were established for relatives and skilled aliens; security provisions against criminals and subversives were strengthened; and due process was safeguarded. The measure was passed over President Truman's veto. The Act was continuously amended in successive years to increase immigration and to accommodate refugees and excluded or restricted classes. The amendments, together with the Act's nonquota loopholes and permissive administrative exceptions, effectively nullified the national-origins quota system, so that two out of every three immigrants became nonquota entrants. The bulk of immigration under the Act was not from the northern and western European areas favored by the national-origins formula. This circumstance accelerated demands for its abolition.
The Immigration Act of 1965
Authors: Kennedy Edward M.
Published: June 2007

For more than forty years, the national-origins quota system dominated·United States immigration policy. It was not until Congress overrode President Truman's veto of the Immigration Act of 1952 that concerted effort to eliminate the quota system began, with the work of President Truman's Commission on Immigration and Naturalization. President Kennedy, long an active supporter of this effort, forwarded his legislative recommendations for immigration reform to Congress on July 23, 1963. The heart of President Kennedy's bill lay in its provisions to eliminate the national-quota system. Committee hearings on the bill were delayed until January 13, 1964, and, as no further action was taken, the bill expired with the adjournment of the Eighty-eighth Congress. On January 13, 1965, President Johnson sent his Message to Congress reiterating the recommendations of the Kennedy bill. Hearings began on February 10, 1965. A substantial part of the ensuing Congressional debate centered on a proposed numerical limitation of Western Hemisphere immigration, which was opposed by the Administration and its supporters. The Immigration Law of 1965, as finally passed, provides for a Select Commission on Western Hemisphere Immigration to look into the matter and report to Congress no later than January 15, 1968. If not provided otherwise by Congress by July 1, 1968, a numerical limitation of 120,000 annually will go into effect on Western Hemisphere immigration. The Law, however, does eliminate the national-origins system, which was conceived in a period of bigotry and reaffirmed in the McCarthy era. A nation's willingness to reform past errors of judgment by reforming public policy is a measure of its greatness.—Ed.
A Long-Range View of World Population Growth
Authors: Durand John D.
Published: June 2007

Mankind is undergoing an extraordinary ex pansion of numbers, unparalleled in history, which began in the eighteenth century and which has gathered increasing momentum since the beginning of the present century. The increase of the earth's human population during the last two hundred years has been three times greater than the cumulated growth during all the previous millennia of man's existence on the planet, and it appears likely that a still greater increase may be in store for the future, before a position of numerical stability is reached. The speeding up of population growth has been brought about by a great improvement in the conditions of mortality, which has enhanced the biological power of multiplication of the species. This has been partly offset in the economically more developed countries by restraint of reproduction, but reproduction rates remain undiminished in most of the less developed countries. The latter countries contain the major share of world population and are receiving an even larger share of the current increase resulting from the excess of births over deaths throughout the world. The crux of the world population problem is in the association of persistent poverty and technological retardation with unremitting rapid growth of numbers in the less developed countries.
Population Projections for the World, Developed and Developing Regions: 1965-2000
Authors: El-Badry M.A.
Published: June 2007

Remarkable gains in man's struggle against disease have brought about an unprecedented growth in world population. This report discusses the recent trends of popula tion growth, in both developed and developing regions, as well as the expected trends up to the end of the present century. The changes in fertility and mortality levels are also presented. The population projections recently prepared by the United Nations, the underlying assumptions, data sources, principal factors of uncertainty, and methods are summarized.
Prospects for Reducing Natality in the Underdeveloped World
Authors: Kirk Dudley
Published: June 2007

The prospects for reductions in birth rates in the less industrialized countries are improving owing to the increas ingly favorable climate of opinion relating to birth control, the invention of better contraceptives, and the adoption of national family planning programs. Some twenty-three countries, in cluding over half the population in the developing countries, now have such programs. These are too new to have had a measurable effect on the birth rate in most countries. Never theless, the birth rate is already falling in a few of the eco nomically more progressive countries in East Asia such as Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore. These reductions in the birth rate may be expected to deepen and spread, accelerated by national family programs operating within the context of rapid socioeconomic change. In two decades the solutions to the world population problem may well be in sight, though not yet fully achieved. But these changes will not occur fast enough to forestall massive population growth and continuing critical problems of population at least through the next decade.
Population Growth and Educational Development
Authors: Liu B. Alfred
Published: June 2007

Educational development of a country, as meas ured by its adult literacy rate and school enrollment ratio, is found to be associated with certain demographic characteristics. It is shown that those countries most advanced educationally tend to have lower rates of population growth; specifically they have low or moderate birth rates which are in falling trends since 1945. Countries least advanced educationally are observed to have higher rates of population growth; their birth rates, already high, are tending to rise further. Countries at intermediate levels of educational development also show inter mediate characteristics of demographic growth. Practical con sequences of these disparities are pointed out with respect to the proportion of a country's population in school-going ages and to the relative burden of public educational expenditure on the national economy. The example of India is cited as illustration. Some guidelines and targets for a country's edu cational development are suggested by the author.
Anthropological Perspectives on National Character
Authors: Hoebel E. Adamson
Published: June 2007

Anthropological interest in the field of national character was stimulated by World War II and motivated by a desire to improve transnational understanding. Since 1956, however, anthropologists have tended to withdraw from con tinuing work on national character, which they look upon as a specialized extension of personality and culture. The holistic emphasis of cultural anthropology is more comfortably ex pressed in the study of tribal societies than it is when applied to nations. In this decade, anthropologists have largely re verted to tribal studies or the application of testing instruments (borrowed from psychology) to limited segments of national populations.
National Character in the Perspective of Cultural Geography
Authors: Broek Jan O.M.
Published: June 2007

The geographer's concern with national character stems from his traditional interest in the mutual relations be tween a people and their land. Each society perceives the habitat through its own cultural spectacles and molds the land according to its needs and tastes. Thus, to the trained ob server the "cultural landscape" reveals in many ways the char acter of the people. The regional approach, a favorite tech nique of geographers, discloses meaningful localized patterns. Modern civilization tends to weaken provincialism, but it does not erase regionalism. Attention is drawn to "electoral geog raphy" and the regional novel as means to comprehend subcul tures within a nation. The question is raised whether "na tional character" is largely the value system and style of the dominant region. If so, national character may change when action centers shift. From ancient times the popular belief persists that the physical environment affects, if not determines, national character. To the scholar it presents a fascinating but elusive problem. Perhaps the reawakened interest in the ecological approach will bring new insights.
Juridical Perspectives on National Character
Authors: Lazar Joseph
Published: June 2007

The descriptive and empirical national character studies supply an essential base for the prescriptive legal order which strives for justice and equity in shaping the ideal na tional character. Analytical or positive jurisprudence of John Austin, Wesley N. Hohfeld, and Hans Kelsen are seen to be related to the contributions of E. Adamson Hoebel, Pitirim A. Sorokin, Geoffrey Gorer, and others. Additionally, the histori cal or sociological jurisprudence of Friedrich Carl von Savigny, Eugen Ehrlich, Max Weber, and Max Rheinstein are seen to suggest concepts (such as Volksgeist), data, and theoretical frameworks useful in describing national legal character. Re lationships between legal mechanisms and national character, if better understood, may have an important bearing on legal institutional engineering. Hopefully, the jurisprudent will join with the behavioral scientist in the search for isomorphisms of data, concepts, and theory in the interdisciplinary study of national character.
National Character in the Perspective of Political Science
Authors: Charlesworth James C.
Published: June 2007

National character must be distinguished from na tional characteristics, and must be assessed over an adequate period of time. Also, the question must be faced as to whether political institutions shape national character more or less than they are shaped by it. The outstanding attributes of national character discernible in recent centuries are particularism, atomism, orderliness, otherworldliness, restraint, a sense of mission, herrenvolkism, mysticism and humility, anthropocen tricism, materialism, egalitarianism, traditionalism, logicism, empiricism, experimentalism, and resoluteness. But what of the future? It would appear that as we observe the passng of the bipolar political world and are confronted with the vocal independence of the Third World, there will be an intensifica tion of particularism, both within and among separate coun tries. Also, it appears that political loyalties will be based in creasingly on hate rather than love, which is another reason why we should try to develop an effective world government. Also, the state as a concept and a political entity is fading. Governments are becoming more ephemeral, but they are real and comprehensible, whether they take on the form of a re public, a one-man dictatorship, a one-party dictatorship, or a charismatic executive.
Some Questions about the Study of American Character in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Riesman David
Published: June 2007

Studies of national character are affected by in tellectual fashions and work requirements and by lay stereo types and assumptions. Although scientific criticisms have been leveled at the ambiguity of the national character con cept, something would be lost if this area of inquiry were abandoned altogether. Work on American character has re mained fragmentary. Some psychoanalytically oriented stud ies assumed that national character was formed in early child hood, but later studies emphasized the effect of class and ethnic differences on child-rearing. Other studies have focused on adjustments of immigrants and travelers to America and ad justments of Americans abroad. Significant differences be tween America and other societies can be observed in expecta tions placed upon the sexes and in ethnic, religious, and social characteristics. Economic factors, the mass media, and edu cation are important in influencing American national charac ter. Resistance to prevailing national styles exists, but the important thing to note is the extent to which resisters re semble purveyors and adopters of these styles. Behavior, pro claimed values, and the voiceless provide only inferential clues. The Lonely Crowd's hypothesis (1950) was that above-sub sistence Americans' goals were changing from the quest for power to the pursuit of resonance with relevant others. To day, other changes might seem salient. National character affects national conduct and vice-versa. Yet political action by an elite minority may shape development conditions for large populations, and hence national character. Given the variety of character types in our society, their interaction, and the strains and pressures on them, possibilities for future de velopment are wide, though not unlimited, and, with present knowledge, we know little of what these limits are.—Ed.
Brazilian National Character in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Freyre Gilberto
Published: June 2007

National character appears differently to out siders and to insiders of the given nation being characterized. The present characterization of Brazilian character, because of frequent absences from Brazil and immersion in a variety of other cultures, adds the perspectives of the outsider to those of an insider long concerned with Brazilian identity. Other scholars have analyzed Brazilian character. Depending on which component of Brazil's complex nature they emphasized, whether, for example, they took the interior or the coast as pri mary, they have conceived of Brazil as essentially Dionysian or Apollonian. James Bryce, perhaps the most sensitive of all foreign students, placed emphasis on the coastal culture and saw Brazil as basically Apollonian. According to this latter approach, which is akin to the author's own, the core of Bra zilians' character comprises spiritual volition, adventurousness, and poetical vision, shared with an important segment of their Portuguese ancestors. However, this Old World heritage has undergone expansion, differentiation, and creative transmuta tion in the course of creative synthesis with New World ele ments. Since early days Brazilians have tended to harmonize idealism with response to reality, political independence with traditional political forms. In all areas of life in Brazil, the same polarity appears: in music, in architecture, even in its cuisine and its football. There is every reason to believe that this process of creative synthesis of old and new will continue as Brazil meets the future.
English Character in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Gorer Geoffrey
Published: June 2007

The major divisions of English society by social class and geographical regions are outlined. Historical evi dence suggests that the typical character of the middle classes has been modified relatively little in the last two centuries, but that the typical character of the urban working classes has had two major modifications: in the middle of the nineteenth cen tury when the invention of the nationwide, unarmed, self-con trolled police forces presented a new model for the ideal char acter ; and again since 1945 when, for the first time in recent history, nearly all working-class children have been adequately nourished. The typical handling of three basic drives—ag— gression, sex, hunger—is examined and the implications for national character explored; and some suggestions are made of the way the changed character of the new generation of the English working classes may modify the national character when this new generation becomes statistically and electorally dominant.
Swedish Character in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Carlsson Gösta
Published: June 2007

During the last half-century writers of various backgrounds have concerned themselves with Swedish national character. Their methods have ranged from the intuitive- impressionistic to the formalized psychiatric. Some of the early efforts are marred by strong nationalistic bias, a typical feature of national character analysis in many countries. This is less noticeable, however, in recent contributions. A major theme that runs through the descriptions of Swedish character is emotional coldness and distance together with stress on achievement and work rather than the warmth of interpersonal relationships. Though there is some consensus on this pre sumed central trait of Swedish character, it should not be re garded as established, but rather as an interesting lead to be followed up in further research.
Israeli Identity: Problems in the Development of the Collective Identity of an Ideological Society
Authors: Eisenstadt S.N.
Published: June 2007

Israeli collective identity has developed from some basic ideological-revolutionary premises and faces now, with growing differentiation and stabilization, many new prob lems. The central problem in Israel as in other modern ideo logical societies has been the extent to which commitments to broader values and to collective responsibility can be main tained in the wake of the weakening of specific ideological commitments and orientations. The possibilities of erosion of such wider commitments often become manifest in two major, often interconnected, ways—in the narrowing of the scope of wider cultural and social orientation and in the growth of cleav ages and conflicts in the central symbolic sphere. On the other hand, there exist within the Israeli cultural scene some trends and forces which tend to counter the tendencies to erosion. Among the most important are the relatively flexible relation ship to different traditions and the relative lack of over-all cul tural splits between different camps. It is important to note that, until now at least, the changing Israeli identity has been able to absorb, to some extent, tensions and problems develop ing from the growing technologization and professionalization. The extent to which a continuous peaceful transformation of Israeli identity will be able to overcome the eroding tendencies analyzed above is perhaps the most crucial problem facing Israeli society.
Civil Liberties
Authors: Konvitz Milton R.
Published: June 2007

Our political institutions are based on certain moral principles. Some are stated in the Constitution; others, unmentioned, are necessary to give "breathing space" to those enumerated. The freedoms expressly stated may be inter preted as expressions of even more fundamental values. And the Constitution also protects the traditions and collective conscience of our people. However, it is not enough for a nation to profess to be a democracy. Totalitarian states have made the same profession. A nation must look at the facts to estimate the degree to which it lives by its ideals. We have, on the one hand, our values, and, on the other, a con siderable amount of data which show how inadequately the values are fulfilled. There is an unconscionable lag of time between proof of malfunction and its cure. The problem is, then, to get the guardians of our goals to read the indicators. There are enough instances of honest governmental report ing to warrant the calculated risks of relying on it. We also have private watchdog organizations interested in civil liber ties, and their efficacy is shown in their record. Watchdogs —like the presidential veto—are built into our political system, and independent observers of our national scene also con tribute to raising our sights. However, there still remains a need for a privately financed organization for research into civil liberties.—Ed.
Discrimination against Negroes
Authors: Duncan Otis Dudley
Published: June 2007

The functions of indicators to measure fullness of participation of minorities in American society can best be understood by relating them to strategic junctures in the socioeconomic life cycle. Data for Negroes, in particular, reveal the operation of two types of handicaps—those common to all members of the society subject to disadvantages of back ground or misfortune, and those specific to minority status. To distinguish between them, and thus to measure progress in reducing discrimination, requires not only comprehensive time series but also methods and models suited to the analysis of causal sequences. Despite the growing fund of valuable indi cators of the status of "nonwhite" Americans, a number of statistical hazards must be circumvented before reliable infer ences and realistic recommendations become possible. In reaching interpretations in this field, social science should operate as a "third force," complementing the work of policy- makers and program-administrators, on the one hand, and civic action groups on the other. Present knowledge is inadequate to the task of formulating specific proposals for redirecting trends. It could rapidly become more nearly adequate with the availability of sufficient resources for research, full co- operation of official statistical agencies, freedom to investigate so-called sensitive problems, and concerted attempts to im prove analytical and interpretive models. For the moment, we can only be sure that formidable obstacles remain in the way of achieving freedom from discrimination.
United States-Soviet Co-operation: Incentives and Obstacles
Authors: Tucker Robert C.
Published: June 2007

Since Stalin's death the Soviet and American governments have moved into a new post-cold-war relation ship in which continuing political rivalry is combined with some political co-operation to keep this "competitive coexistence" peaceful. Incentives for co-operation are strong, centering in common interest in reducing the danger of thermonuclear war. But obstacles, too, are strong: resistance by some Third World states, resistance by some elements of both of the co-operating governments, and the continuing intense competition for influence in the Third World, which creates imbalances and crises. Despite all the obstacles, the incentives to United States-Soviet co-operation may prevail. But if a co-operative relationship is to endure, it will have to become more extensive and evolve into an entente. The precondition of this is some curtailment of power rivalry, which would not, however, mean a global bargain. Furthermore, some element of trust would have to be built into the Soviet-American relationship. The Soviet-American co-operative arrangement could take two different forms: either a "condominium" based on a division of spheres of influence or an alliance on behalf of the growth of international order. The latter would be more in accord with the needs of the situation and the genius of the two peoples.
The Influence of Small States in a Changing World
Authors: Wilcox Wayne A.
Published: June 2007

In a world of disparate states, the enormous wealth and military power of the United States and the Soviet Union appear to prejudice the independence of small states and confirm the concept of bipolarity. However, small states con tinue to exist, proliferate, and influence the great powers. The contemporary state system cannot be labeled bipolar except in discussing nuclear strategy. Most international relations exist at the levels of bargaining and seeking influence, and here the small states have great strength. Small states can be seen to have been better served by the "aid" relationship with the United States than the donor. This is partly a function of cold-war competition, but, more importantly, of the potent effect in bargaining of small-state specific interests and great-power general interests. Contemporary world politics demonstrates that no clear correlation exists between wealth and military force and the ability to produce results (power). Economic influence is subject to political control outside state frontiers, and weapons are no more impressive than the ability of peoples to resist them. Effective foreign policy requires mutuality of interest between interested parties; open, candid communication; and the confidences that make trust in agree ments possible. Disparities of size probably make these more difficult, not easier, in American and Soviet policy.
Africa and the World: Nonalignment Reconsidered
Authors: Hadsel Fred L.
Published: June 2007

African nonalignment developed between 1955, when its Asian counterpart flowered at the Bandung Confer ence, and 1965, when it was shaken by the failure of Afro-Asians to hold their conference at Algiers. Articulated by a number of leaders but never adopted by them all, African nonalignment usually involved efforts to assure independence, resist external "neocolonial" intervention, avoid entanglement in great-power conflict, emphasize economic development, seek "aid without strings," proclaim confidence in the moral rightness of the underdeveloped nations, and exert influence in certain international issues. Toward the end of this decade, and especially in 1965-1966, many African countries reconsidered their views on nonalignment. The Soviet-Chinese split was disillusioning. The change in African leadership through military take-overs caused a turning toward national problems of political stability. Continental questions, especially those of southern Africa, grew in importance, as did the pragmatic emphasis on economic development. Nonalignment in its old form has been transformed, but since many of the reasons for its first growth continue, it may well reappear in a modified form.
Employment and the "New Economics"
Authors: Keyserling Leon H.
Published: June 2007

The main focus of national economic and related social policies should be upon federally guaranteed full em ployment and a federally initiated nationwide system of guar anteed income for those who cannot be brought within the employment stream. Progress toward these objectives will add more to personal development and national achievement than a further proliferation of marginal programs called "new." Full-time unemployment should be reduced to about 2 per cent of the civilian labor force, and the true level of unemployment to about 3 to 3.5 per cent. Full employment, optimum eco nomic growth, and optimum allocation of resources, in line with the great social priorities of national needs, are inseparable objectives and do not involve much programmatic differentia tion. The prevalent view that these objectives involve exces sive or even enlarged inflationary pressures is not justified by empirical observation. The drive against "inflation" thus far has inflated the fat and starved the lean. The aggregate and structural approaches to full employment need a new synthesis. We need, particularly under the aegis of the Employment Act of 1946, a ten-year budget of our needs and resources. All na tional public policies importantly affecting resource-allocation, including the federal budget, should be made an integral part of this long-range budget. The core problem for the years ahead is to maintain that one increasing purpose in our national life which is essential if we are to realize the promise of America.
Social Breakdown
Authors: Goldman Nathan
Published: June 2007

Although problems of family breakdown, drug and alcohol addiction, mental disorder, suicide, and sexual deviation appear to be increasing, the available data are either so deficient or so incomplete that accurate appraisal of the situation is impossible. However, some of these problems seem to be more or less socially sanctioned adjustments to strains in the social system rather than maladjustments in themselves. To achieve our goal of maximizing the social health of American society, we must consider these problems as indicators of strain, and focus our national resources on the reduction of these strains. We need to improve the collection of data on these indicators, and to devise new ones, in order to identify and locate those situations which interfere with the ideal functioning of our social system. A significant aspect of social breakdown is seen in the inability of the society to mobilize for an attack on situations which it has defined as undesirable. Our concern should be with the identification of these processes as well as the underlying social strains of which social problems are overt indicators. We must estab lish standard definitions or criteria of social problems and increase the scope and accuracy of our data-collection. Infor mation-gathering on the local or state level would need to be co-ordinated on a nationwide basis to provide a useful set of indicators of the social state of the nation.
Societal Feedback
Authors: Bauer Raymond A.
Published: June 2007

This essay examines the nature of a potential societal information system. If we take the modern manage ment-control system as a prototype, the societal system would be broader based, multifunctional, and more open-ended. The general functions of any information system are detection, evaluation, diagnosis, and guidance to action. The exercise of these functions is easier, to the extent that the problems dealt with are of a relatively narrow range and a relatively repetitive nature. The problems toward which a societal in formation is directed are not only widely varied but also com plex and unique. Given the breadth, complexity, and unique ness of the problems, the number of actors and evaluators whose information needs must be met, and the lack of con sensus on any model of our society, one cannot devise a set of social indicators closely tailored to more than a few of the potential uses to which they are to be put. In the selection of the indicators themselves, one must to a large extent rely on consensus that certain aspects of the society are "important" regardless of the societal model one holds. A system such as this is highly reliant on rapid feedback because it is weak on pro viding anticipations of the full range of consequences of one's actions. Furthermore, the causal relations between one's actions and changes measured by a broad societal information system are indirect and diffused. A good deal of ad hoc, analytic research is required to bridge the gaps of inference in such a system.
Health and Well-Being
Authors: Lee Philip R.
Published: June 2007

Health is discussed as both a generalized and a very relative concept, defined to include not only freedom from physical disease and pain, but also social well-being. The im portance of environmental factors is stressed. Measuring health status in the past has been largely dependent on the negative aspects of health—death rate and morbidity. Al though still important, they no longer yield enough information on which to establish goals and determine policy. Increasing emphasis has been placed on disability, costs, and the social and emotional consequences of disease. During the past thirty years, the federal government has been increasingly involved in a number of health-care programs designed to: (1) advance research; (2) meet manpower, facility, and other resource re quirements; (3) stimulate local, regional, and state initiative and improved co-operation with the federal government; (4) remove financial barriers; (5) improve quality and availability of services; and (6) protect the consumer and improve the quality of our environment.
New Goals for Social Information
Authors: Gross Bertram M. , Springer Michael
Published: June 2007

In this period of confusing social change, a do mestic "intelligence gap" impedes rational consideration of both public and private policy choices. An intelligent strategy for narrowing this gap requires action on many fronts. One of these is to remedy the "concept lag" produced by the comparability-relevance conflict and other factors. As indi cated by the table "Indicator Suggestions" (and the similar table in the Gross-Springer article in the May 1967 volume of THE ANNALS), this is the main task assumed by most of the authors in both volumes. Instead of discussing statistical techniques, they have concentrated on conceptual innovations that make it possible to upgrade obsolescent data and obtain new forms of social information, both quantitative and qualitative.
Demographic Change and the Roles and Status of Women
Authors: Ridley Jeanne Clare
Published: June 2007

In preindustrial societies, women could combine a familial with an economic role. With industrialization, eco nomic production was removed from the home; thus, women lost their economic role. The reductions in natality and mortal ity that accompanied the Industrial Revolution in the West re sulted in a smaller proportion of women's lives being devoted to the bearing and rearing of children. In Western countries, declines in mortality contributed to a surplus of women in the marriageable ages. This surplus increased the proportion of single women. The larger numbers of women remaining single and the diminished importance of the reproductive role for married women required the redefinition of the roles and status of women to permit increased economic participation. Such a redefinition is also likely as mortality declines in de veloping countries. Thus, in these countries, economic activ ity of women outside the home will probably increase from its present low level. Moreover, increases in marital duration as well as other changes in marital patterns should lead to a decrease in natality and an improvement in the status of women within marriage.
Impact of the World Social Situation on Women
Authors: Henderson Julia J.
Published: June 2007

The failure to raise levels of living in most of the developing countries has a particular impact on women. Half of the world population continues to live at abysmally low levels, often below the subsistence standards of advanced countries. The lagging sectors in development are, particu larly, food, housing, and employment. In general, women bear a greater share of the malnutrition problem, and also carry a heavy load in supplementing the family income of irregularly employed husbands. At the same time, they must maintain their family responsibilities. The situation in health, both the achievements and the remaining problems, is outlined in some detail, with special reference to its impact on women. The major social trends, particularly population growth and redistribution, the social revolution in the develop ing countries, and their relationships to the advancement of women, are briefly sketched. Finally, the role which women are playing and may play in development work at the local and national levels, both in voluntary and in professional activities, is given some attention.
From Constitutional Recognition to Public Office
Authors: Menon Lakshmi N.
Published: June 2007

The right to vote and hold public office has been obtained by women after a long and arduous struggle extending over a century. Today, the recognition of this right is embodied in the constitutions of almost all the coun tries which are members of the United Nations. In practice, however, not only is this right abridged in many ways, but also many obstacles are encountered by women as a result of tradition and prejudice, social and economic backwardness, and the general reluctance of men to share power generously with women. The gap between recognition and achievement is still very wide, even in countries which are economically advanced, politically stable, and socially progressive. Even so, it is gratifying to know that, undeterred by this essential deprivation of greater opportunity to hold power, women have made and are still making their contributions in diverse areas of human enterprise and activity, as leaders and initi ators of movements for political and social emancipation, human welfare, and world peace. The struggle for political power, not for power itself, but to enable mankind to build a new social order in peace and freedom, has just begun, and the future of the world depends on how effectively women can organize to meet this challenge.
Status of Women in Private Law
Authors: Pedersen Inger Margrete
Published: June 2007

Before the feminist movement began, women all over the world were victims of much discrimination in private law. The feminists very early began urging reforms, and fairly quickly succeeded in getting most of the rules dis criminating against unmarried women removed. It has proved much more difficult to obtain amendments in the law concern ing the status of married women. But it is not only women now who are working to obtain equality. The United Nations has been especially active in this field in many ways. Some of the main problems dealt with in this article are the protec tion of women's rights when marriages are contracted (form and minimum age) and when marriages are dissolved (for example, grounds for divorce must be the same for both sexes). Under the subhead "Property Rights," the advantages of sepa rate property systems and community property systems are discussed, and the need to protect housewives who have no separate income is stressed. The rules concerning the spouses' responsibility for support of the family are discussed with reference to the report of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and Scandinavian law. It is emphasized that this problem is of central importance when the role of women in the modern world is discussed.
Women and Politics in Japan
Authors: Fujita Taki
Published: June 2007

On April 10, 1946, Japanese women exercised the right to vote for the first time. Since then, more than twenty years have passed. Have Japanese women availed themselves of their political rights? What about their voting percentages compared with those of men? What about the achievements of women members of the Diet? There are many questions to be considered in this article. As yet, how ever, it is too soon to evaluate the merits and demerits of Japa nese women in politics. But this much I can say with confi dence : women's voices are beginning to be listened to, thanks to their newly gained political rights.
Women's Political Participation in the South Pacific
Authors: Norris Ada
Published: June 2007

The South Pacific region includes: (1) New Zealand, where, in 1893, women were given voting rights for the first time in the world and where women secured equality in most fields relatively early; (2) Australia, where women acquired political rights without a struggle—from 1899 to 1909 in the states and in 1902 in the national sphere. It is not easy to understand why Australian women have not been elected to parliament in greater numbers; (3) the non-self-governing Territory of Papua and the Trust Territory of New Guinea, administered by Australia, where the comparatively sudden transition from barbarism to modern life that is taking place gives the advantages in the political field to men rather than to women, in spite of special measures for the advancement of women; and (4) the host of Pacific islands (many of them quite tiny) of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia—once thought of as romantic island paradises, although they were never a para dise for women. In these islands, women participate in political life to varying extents in the different island societies.