Three paradigms of childhood

Le conflit social contemporain au sujet des relations parents-enfants, et spécialement en ce qui concerne la sexualité de l'enfant, est analysé ici à l'aide de trois paradigmes théoriques sur la construction sociale de l'enfance: a/ les enfants en tant que propriété, une définition sociale trouvant son origine dans la société pré-industrielle; b/ la protection des enfants, légitimée par l'industrialisation; et c/ l'enfant en tant que personne, une conception défendue par de récents mouvements de libération. Des exemples pour chaque paradigme sont tirés de sources canadiennes contemporaines. L'intensité actuelle de la révolution paradigmatiqué est expliquée sous l'image d'un noeud de tabous étreignant la construction sociale de la sexualité aussi bien que du pouvoir.
Contemporary social conflict over parent-child relationships, especially concerning child sexuality, is analysed using three theoretical paradigms of social construction of childhood: a/ children as property, a social definition originating in pre-industrial society; b/ protection of children, legitimated by industrialism; and c/ the child as person, advocated by recent liberation movements. Examples of each paradigm are drawn from contemporary Canadian sources. The current intensity of 'paradigmatic revolution' is explained in terms of a nexus of taboos surrounding social construction of both sexuality and power.     

WORKERS SHOULD WANT TO PAY MORE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

One controversial aspect of the current Social Security system has been the relative distribution of its net costs and benefits between employers and workers. Using simple supply and demand analysis, we demonstrate that proponents and opponents of the current system are making arguments that support the position of their adversaries. In particular, proponents of the existing Social Security system should be arguing that workers pay all of the Social Security tax and then some with lower wages, while opponents should be arguing that employers are paying most of the tax. (JEL H55 , D78 )     

Expectation/Disillusion and Presidential Popularity: The Reagan Experience

The Sigelman-Knight analysis of the "expectation/disillusion"interpretation of recurring declines in presidential popularityis replicated with data on the Reagan presidency. There is aconnection between Reagan's popularity and expectations aboutwhat he would be able to accomplish, but (just as was the caseduring the Carter presidency, and directly counter to predictions)it was the more highly educated whose expectations of presidentialperformance were initially highest. Moreover, as time passedthe size of the education-based gap in expectations of Reaganincreased over time. These findings leave the expectation/disillusioninterpretation in considerable doubt.     

USING PAID ADVERTISING TO MODIFY RACIAL STEREOTYPE BELIEFS

This is a pilot study to determine the feasibility of usingmass media to modify beliefs underlying discrimination againstAborigines in a small country town in Australia. A mass mediacampaign was developed utilizing primarily paid advertising.The 2-week campaign centered around the concept of an Aboriginalemployment week, ostensibly designed to encourage Aboriginesto seek employment and, at the same time, to encourage the communityin general (including employers) to give Aborigines seekingemployment "a fair go." However, a major aim of the campaignwas an attempt to neutralize some of the negative beliefs aboutAborigines and employment. The specific stereotypical beliefstargeted with respect to Aboriginal employment were: (1) veryfew Aborigines hold jobs; (2) most Aborigines who hold jobshold them for a very brief period of time; and (3) most Aborigineswho do hold jobs hold unskilled rather than semi-skilled orskilled positions. These beliefs were targeted because qualitativeresearch revealed that they formed the basis for the more evaluativebeliefs that Aborigines are lazy, irresponsible, and unreliableand that it is these evaluative beliefs that inhibit Aboriginalemployment. A pre-post independent samples design was used.The results showed significant changes in beliefs about theproportion of Aborigines in paid employment and in the proportionof employed Aborigines remaining in a job for an extended periodof time.     

信息化时代大学教育的革新

21世纪的大学教育应倡导机械唯物主义式的教育,即以质为主的教育方式。提倡实现教育信息化,掌握适应教育形态变化的最尖端的信息通信技术。因为知识在信息的"洪流"中日益发生巨变,为了正确引导知识流,其前提条件就是必须克服教育现场的物理局限性。对此,韩国在全国范围内构筑"E-LEARNING"系统等教育信息化投资方面毫不吝啬。     

VOTING IN FIRMS: THE ROLE OF AGENDA CONTROL, SIZE AND VOTER HOMOGENEITY

Voting is a common feature of most firms. Unrestricted voting, however, can lead to unstable decision making. We find that firms make tradeoffs among collective decision making, production scale, firm structure, and voter characteristics that are consistent with efforts to economize on the costs of voting. Firm responses include agenda control, restrictions to obtain a homogeneous voting population, and limits on firm size. We consider three long-surviving producer cooperatives, representing extreme cases of collective decision making, and find that their organization is sensitive to the costs of voting and to the employment of mechanisms to constrain those costs.