Discrepancies between perceived income needs and actual incomes

It is shown that in the twelve year period from 1973 to 1985 Canadians' estimates of family income needs tended to be about 51% of actual average family incomes, in current dollars. Estimated needs in current dollars increased 12 times more rapidly than actual average family incomes in constant 1985 dollars.     

Maintaining Environmental Resources in the International System: A Comparison of Contractual Arrangements

Objectives. State A may control an environmental resource that has value for other actors in the international system. The objective of this article is to compare different contractual arrangements between State A and other agents for preservation of this resource. I concentrate on direct purchase schemes and dynamic (stream–of–payment) schemes. Methods. The problem is analyzed by constructing a model of the returns to State A from exploiting the resource; its public goods value; and transfer payments from other agents. Results. Among the main results are that continual transfers may be better than a one–off buyout and, if the resource does not have a public goods value for the owner, compensation may not be effective. Conclusions. Generally, the analysis points out the gains to be made from paying attention to the type of contractual arrangement. Most of these results would not have been intuitively clear. I also show that rental schemes may be the least risky option.     

Antisocial personality disorder and pathological gambling

The prevalence of antisocial personality disorder and its relationship to criminal offenses in pathological gamblers was investigated. A semi-structured interview schedule containing DSM-III criteria for antisocial personality and the California Psychological Inventory Socialisation subscale was administered to a sample of 306 pathological gamblers. Of the total sample, 35% reported no offense. Forty eight percent admitted to the commission of a gambling related offense, 6% to a non-gambling related offense, and 11% to both types of offense. Fifteen percent of subjects met DSM-III diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder. Though these subjects were at greatest risk for committing criminal offenses, offenses were committed independently of DSM-III antisocial personality disorder in the majority of gamblers. It was concluded that features of antisocial personality emerged in response to repeated attempts to conceal excessive gambling and gambling induced financial difficulties.This study was supported by a grant from the Criminology Research Council. The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Council. The contribution of Anna Frankova, Research Assistant, is gratefully acknowledged.     

The factorial structure of pathological gambling

Pathological gambling has been characterised by DSM-III-R and DSM-IV as a disorder of impulse control with a proportion of gamblers identified as meeting criteria for a co-morbid diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder. To date, empirical evidence in support of the notion that pathological gamblers as a group manifest elevated traits of impulsivity remains equivocal. Principal components analysis was used to investigate relationships between the constructs of impulsivity, psychopathy, DSM-III-R criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder, psychological distress, criminal offending behavior and a range of other common psychological measures employed with pathological gamblers. The sample comprised 115 pathological gamblers, 80 consecutive gamblers seeking treatment from a general hospital psychiatric inpatient behavior therapy unit, and 35 volunteer Gamblers Anonymous attenders. Four primary factors were determined: psychological distress, sensation seeking, crime and liveliness, and impulsive-antisocial. Results suggest that pathological gambling consists of a number of discrete and reproducible factorial structures. The impulsive antisocial factor was found to be associated with gambling behavior and indices of poor psychosocial functioning.     

Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Options in Canada

This article examines the role of public opinion in Canada'sattempt to lessen its dependence on the United States and seekcloser ties with European and Asian countries. Employing nationalsurvey data collected over a three-year period, the authorsargue that widespread public support for new directions in foreignpolicy has not developed in Canada in spite of the climate ofincreasing nationalism and the shift in government policy. Attitudestoward the problem of foreign investment, domestic economicissues, trade agreements, and Canadian participation in internationalpeacekeeping forces are also reported.     

Symbolic interactionism and the concept of power

Symbolic interactionism is often represented as a perspective which is limited by its restriction to 'micro' aspects of social organization. As such, it is allegedly unable to adequately conceptualize 'macro' phenomena such as social structure, patterns of inequality, and power. Such a view is routinely presented in undergraduate textbooks. This paper contests such a view through a consideration of the concept of power. We argue that the interactionist research tradition does show a fundamental concern with power phenomena, and that a reconsideration of the concept is timely in light of theoretical developments in sociology more generally. An increasing concern with the analysis of culture, the continuing influence of Foucault, the development of feminist perspectives, and the emerging consensus around neo-Weberian thought have all contributed to a renewal of interest in themes long ago explored by interactionists. As examples we suggest that interactionist studies in the fields of deviance and education have been concerned above all with the authoritative imposition of consequential identities, i.e., with the social processes through which power is enacted and institutionalized in real situations. Such developments have led some to argue that interactionism has now been incorporated into the mainstream of sociology. We conclude, however, by arguing that such a view runs the risk of granting to orthodox sociological thought a legitimacy which is analytically unwarranted, and which fails to recognize the alternative theoretical and philosophical foundations of symbolic interactionist thought.     

Elder mistreatment in urban India: a community based study

This study examined the extent and correlates of elder mistreatment among 400 community dwelling older adults aged 65 and above in Chennai, India. The prevalence rate of mistreatment was 14%. Chronic verbal abuse was the most common followed by financial abuse and the rate of physical abuse and neglect was similar. Among the mistreated, exactly half of them had experienced more than one type of mistreatment (multifaceted-mistreatment). With the exception of financial abuse, a significantly greater number of women experienced verbal and physical abuse as well as neglect compared to men. Adult children, daughters-in-law, spouses, and sons-in-law were the prominent perpetrators. The mistreated older adults were more depressed and less satisfied with life than those who were not mistreated. Logistic regression analysis revealed gender, social support, and subjective rating of physical health as significant factors associated with abuse.     

Developing business buccaneers: employer expectations of emergent leaders

This study investigates employer expectations of graduates to inform pedagogical practice within a context of industry–university collaboration. Employers’ views of graduates as future leaders are explored through interviews, focus groups and a survey, with a regional sample of 146 managers. Findings show employers have different understandings and diverse expectations of leadership traits and generic competencies. Employers anticipate future graduates will need greater adaptability and flexibility for volatile business contexts; with some highlighting rule breaking that implies a buccaneer approach rather than responsible leadership. The dissonance between an academic aim to educate socially responsible, global citizens and industry demands potentially undermines the coherence of partnership. Consequently, this study casts doubt on implicit assumptions that practice-informed, industry–university, collaboration will deliver better leaders. The main implications are that educators need to clearly communicate to employers how university learning transfers into actual work practice, and for graduates to better articulate their broad capabilities. The research offers fresh insight into on educators’ responsibility to nurture critical thinking in graduates with the learning agility to question and responsibly navigate organisational rules. The study also contributes to the industry–university partnership debate by revealing the academic complexity of developing future leaders given the multiple lenses of practice-informed views.