Presents two drafts of the Russian government's "Conception of Preschool Upbringing." Suggests in the first draft that goals for renovating the Russian kindergarten include enhancing child health, educational goals, and living conditions. Explores in the second draft the roles of individual development, interaction, learning, labor, and…

The health problems caused by damp housing in Glasgow, Scotland, led to a grass-roots community action campaign that improved living conditions. A second step was preventive health measures and research into other causes of ill health in disadvantaged areas. (SK)

We explore young working women's perceptions of marriage and work in contemporary Egypt, when an increase in age at marriage was evident from national survey data. Both working conditions and employment opportunities declined significantly for young women even as their educational attainment increased and marriage was delayed. In-depth interviews…

This case study covers several exploratory data analysis ideas, the histogram and boxplot, kernel density estimates, the recently introduced bagplot--a two-dimensional extension of the boxplot--as well as the violin plot, which combines a boxplot with a density shape plot. We apply these ideas and demonstrate how to interpret the output from these…

An emerging global phenomenon of significant proportions, the mobility of high-level personnel affects the socioeconomic and sociocultural progress of a nation and the world. The information era has conquered the barriers of distance and space, opening up a whole array of opportunities and challenges affecting the mode in which the world interacts…

This study evaluated benefits of a preventive intervention to the living standards of recently separated mothers. In the Oregon Divorce Study's randomized experimental design, data were collected 5 times over 30 months and evaluated with Hierarchical Linear Growth Models. Relative to their no-intervention control counterparts, experimental mothers…

The phrase "secondary employment" has been familiar to the majority of Russians since back in the Soviet era, and can reasonably be viewed as part of a broader process of adaptation to new economic conditions since the end of the late 1980s. With young people, however, this approach to the phenomenon of secondary employment is not…

Data on conditions of and satisfaction with housing of the Appalachian coal miner were examined to determine relationships between housing deprivation, housing satisfaction, and various demographic and housing characteristics. Using 438 questionnaires returned by miner families, findings revealed miners lacked some amenities enjoyed by workers of…

Focuses on letters to the editor of the magazine "Chinese Youth" on the topic of personal reactions to modern life in China. Among opinions expressed are some despairing over the meaninglessness and hypocrisy of Chinese life, some expressing cynicism over official values, and some indicating appreciation of socialist values. (AM)

These interviews, edited from tapes made in the field, convey, albeit optimistically, the harsh realities of poverty and withal, the resilience and strength that some elderly can clearly muster. (Author)

A study of lapsed and successful relationships is reported. Confirmed that friends who had chosen, after acquaintance in communal quarters, to live with one another in more personal accommodation were more similar in personal constructs. (Author)

Provides a lesson plan on the issue of distributive justice, or fairness in the ways things are distributed among individuals and groups. Includes a student reading concerning a proposed guaranteed standard of living. Proposes an activity that calls for student discussion of a constitutional amendment that would offer such a guarantee. (SG)

Discusses the state of the Soviet economy during the period of perestroika. Includes the level of output, rate of inflation, privatization, and proposals for economic reform. Assesses the stabilization program and possibilities of restructuring. Concludes that neither Mikhail Gorbachev nor perestroika are likely to survive the trials of inflation,…

U.S. Labor Secretary Reich argues that training for high-skill work is the key to high-paying jobs. The New Republic's contributing editor, John Judis, attributes wage decline to decline of unions and proposes a compromise between business and labor. (JOW)

The 1980s and 1990s have been decades of quite good economic growth in North America and much of Western Europe. But how have the fruits of growth been shared? This paper reviews changing income distributions in the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands. These three countries may be taken as exemplars and leading economic performers in "the three…