Working from the basic assumption that the primary motivation for those involved in school governance is self-interest, this paper develops and discusses 15 hypotheses that form the essential elements of an economic theory of school governance. The paper opens with a review of previous theories of governance and their origins in social science…

Examines social factors that lead to the development of learned helplessness in elderly persons in the health care setting, including stereotyping elderly by health care professionals, effects of unequal interpersonal exchange, and behaviors associated with sick and healer roles. Discusses programatic and educational prophylaxis and solutions to…

Extends earlier work on aging as a process of exchange by focusing on the issue of exchange rates and how they are negotiated. Access to power resources declines with age, placing the old person in the position of negotiating from weakness. (Author)

Applies social exchange principles to the difficulties of setting up a stepfamily. Discusses obstacles to role adjustment and maintenance of equity among members. Concludes that if the reconstituting family can establish a basis of trust, the stepfamily can merge as a developmental unit toward expansion and commitment. (Author)

Explores a structural exchange theory of marital interaction. Discusses importance of considering structural and temporal dimensions involved in marital exchange. Suggests examining the influence of the social structure on the cognitive orientations of marital partners and the subsequent exchange relationship. Examines how trust and commitment…

Recent studies have investigated the transition of relationships from a more intimate to a less intimate state--the depenetration process. Various phases of interpersonal conflict in the dissolution of marital dyads have been described, and factors indicating that a marriage might be "in trouble" have been identified. Processes that are…

Although the experience of jealously is among the most common of experiences in intimate relationships, little theoretical or empirical work has been done from a sociologial perspective to increase our understanding of this aspect of male-female relationships. An investigation of marital jealousy as a sociological rather than a psychological…

The media has recently exposed that grade inflation is a concern for higher education in North America. Grade inflation may be due to consumerism by universities that now compete for students. Keeping students happy (and paying) may have been emphasized more than learning. We review the literature on faculty evaluation and present a model that…

This report discusses the structural conditions under which organizational development (OD), as employed in the school systems of the United States and Canada, is more or less applicable to schools. The first section (chapters 1-6) reviews papers and books, concerning either OD in general or the ways in which the ideas of OD have been used in the…

This paper focuses on investigating the purposive design of learning environments to counter the erosion of social capital in communities and schools in contemporary society. Can schools intentionally replenish stocks of social capital by creating normative systems conducive to the optimal academic and social development of students, and by…