The purpose of this study is to investigate into the acute and perennial under-representation of women in Nigerian Politics. In Nigeria women make up half of the population and they have been known to have contributed in no small measure to the development and sustenance of the society yet they are hardly there in the political scene. We have…

In 1974, Ohio repealed its sodomy laws; Massachusetts Representative Elaine Noble became the first openly gay individual elected to a state legislature; and the National Gay Task Force collaborated with US Representatives Bella Abzug (D-NY) and Edward Koch (D-NY) to introduce the Equality Act of 1974 to ban discrimination against lesbians, gay…

Panda-hugger and dragon-slayer are phrases used to describe two different kinds of China-watchers, and increasingly, two different types of people in the general public. A panda-hugger is someone who says that almost everything going on in China is good, that China's progress is a great thing for the world, and that any problems are peripheral. A…

Research supports the anecdotal observation that unmarried mothers and their children face greater obstacles and suffer greater strains than married couples and their children. Less is known about the specific characteristics of the women who have births outside of marriage. This research brief paints a fuller picture of nonmarital childbearing.…

One of the foremost scholars on popular culture discusses trends in recent popular culture which have culminated in new styles of violence and pornography. (Editor/RK)

This report is a summary of the findings of the societal trends survey completed at the National Forum on Learning and The American Future, which focused on factors influencing the future of adult learning. The survey questionnaire and results consist of 120 societal trend statements organized into sixteen different content areas: demography;…

Points out that changing attitudes are responsible for more women working outside the home. Shows that the tendency for women to work and their higher status when working reinforce each other. Suggests husbands' attitudes become more favorable towards working women when they become used to their wives working. (Author/RC)

Despite mixed signals from society and increasing economic pressures, the outlook for voluntarism is far from bleak. Although conventional wisdom holds that voluntarism declines during recessions and depressions, it has been strong during volatile periods in American history. The new volunteer finds the most personally suitable work. (MSE)

This book of essays addresses changes in the U.S. social scene by examining the roots of change in history. The present is pregnant with many futures and citizens cannot afford to live from an intellectually simple, ahistorical stance. The book contains 12 chapters, including: (1) "Introduction: The Past in the Present"; (2) "The Coalescing of…

This volume consists of an index of questions repeated in public opinion surveys, and the variants of these questions. The questions included are drawn from American national samples (primarily of the general population) conducted by AIPO (Gallup) NORC, and Roper, and archived at the Roper Public Opinion Research Center. The basic data for over 90…

Three demographic rates and the social reality they measure signify important, continuing changes in the Swedish family. As compared with the rest of the industrial world, the Swedish now have the lowest marriage rate, the highest non-marital cohabitation rate, and possibly the highest family dissolution rate. Contents of this article focus on the…

The effects of Social Darwinism, eugenics, and contemporary political conservatism on the status of advocacy efforts for the mentally retarded are reviewed. Provided are historical sketches of Social Darwinism, which viewed the retarded as members of an inferior race, and eugenics, which argued for sterilization of the "genetically…

Three factors central to the development of modern attitudes toward childhood are awareness that children and adults differ, the definition of women's primary role as maternal, and the increasingly complex demands made on adults. The combined pressures of feminism and the accessibility of broadcast media are changing these factors significantly.…

Four case studies were used to illustrate application of panel analysis in sociological research. The panel design requires that (a) identical units be reobserved; (b) identical criteria be employed; and (c) initial and subsequent observations be made at the same times for all units and all criteria. Units may be individuals, qroups (such as…