A short‐form scale to measure sexual discord in dyadic relationships

This paper presents a new short‐form scale for use by clinical workers and researchers in measuring the degree or magnitude of a problem in the sexual component of a dyadic relationship, as seen by the respondent. The scale was designed for use in repeated administrations at periodic intervals in order that therapists might continually monitor and evaluate their clients' response to treatment. Internal consistency and test‐retest reliability were found to be in excess of .90, and the scale has a discriminant validity coefficient of .76.     

Comparative Relationship Stability of Lesbian Mother and Heterosexual Mother Families: A Review of Evidence

It has been concluded from a review of the literature involving only one study that lesbian parents were more likely to have unstable relationships. Other scholars have struggled with considerable controversy over how much was or was not known about the stability of lesbian parent relationships as well as whether such relationships were more or less stable than heterosexual parent relationships. Arguments have been made on all sides of the issues. A careful review of the literature suggests that more is known about the stability of lesbian parent relationships than previously suspected and that, on average, such relationships tend to be less stable than those of married heterosexual parents. Less is understood about the factors that may influence relationship stability for gay or lesbian parents, creating a critical need for additional research, especially with different demographic subgroups of lesbian and gay parents.     

Open and closed birth intervals for once-married spouse-present white women

Using the 1970 1/1,000 Public Use Sample of the U.S. population, the relationships of the closed and open birth intervals with parity and mother's age, with parity and marital duration, and with children ever born/marital duration and mother's age are analyzed. These findings both replicate and expand on Srinivasan's earlier research on the open interval. The open interval is more sensitive as an index of marital fertility when marital duration and parity are controlled than when mother's age and parity are controlled.     

从狩猎到献祭:希腊葬礼仪式剖析

史前史和民族学领域的学者认为,在初民社会中,死人和死去的动物有着同等的对待,因为都是处理死亡,这就决定了葬礼仪式跟狩猎仪式有着某种必然的联系。事实上,从一开始,狩猎和献祭仪式就伴随着葬礼仪式且相互影响。本文论述葬礼仪式的发生以及葬礼过程中的种种仪式行为,如动物献祭、仪式性杀戮、仪式食物的分享、对尸体的处理等。通过具体诠释,表明神话观念对仪式行为的支配性作用,葬礼仪式在确认和维系社会群体持续性中的重要作用。     

Book Review: The Collaboration Challenge: How Nonprofits and Businesses Succeed through Strategic Alliances. By James E. Austin. Jossey-Bass,San Francisco, 2000

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

Klassenspaltung Im Wahlverhalten — Eine Reanalyse

The note reports results of a Re-analysis of data used in an earlier article published in this journal (KZfSS 50, 1998: 3–45). The new analysis is based on more recent data (from Allbus 1996 and 1998) added to those used in the earlier contribution. Also a coding error in the earlier analysis has been corrected. The results confirm all substantial findings of the earlier analysis with one exception: Working class voters born after World War II have less negative preferences concerning voting for the Greens than their counterparts born before World War II.     

Keeping Australia's Older Workers in the Labour Force. A Policy Perspective

As in other western industrialised countries the structural ageing of the Australian population has significant labour market implications. Government has responded with a range of policies to persuade older workers to abandon early retirement and/or remain in the workforce past traditional retirement ages. But whether this generation of workers will be prepared to change their retirement plans in response to policy encouragement, and whether current policy measures will translate into significant numbers of older workers extending their labour force participation is uncertain. Using the Australian Survey of Retirement Attitudes and Motivations (ASRAM) a recently completed, nationally representative survey of Australian workers aged 40 – 59 years we find that while the Government message about working longer is getting through, older workers are relatively unresponsive to current policy measures. Other policies, especially policies outside the financial realm, are needed to maximise the number of older Australians in the labour force.     

The Social Policy Indicators (SPIN) database

The Social Policy Indicators (SPIN) database provides the foundations for new comparative and longitudinal research on the causes behind, and the consequences of, welfare states and social citizenship rights. The SPIN database is oriented towards analyses of institutions as manifested in social policy legislation. To date, SPIN covers 40 countries, of which several have data on core social policy programmes from 1930. There are currently six data modules in SPIN, covering different social policy areas. The following research note describes the theoretical and conceptual basis of the SPIN project, as well as the data it contains.     

Agricultural Journalists' Assessments of Print Coverage of Agricultural News1

Abstract Critics of agricultural news claim farm media and mass media coverage of agriculture is systematically distorted, a condition that could seriously affect the agricultural information system. A national survey used agricultural journalists as expert judges to assess how well three types of print journalists cover agricultural news. Their assessments indicated that mass media reporters who do not regularly cover agricultural news tend to write agriculture stories that are superficial and stereotyped but not biased toward agricultural interests. Farm magazine writers' stories are not superficial or stereotyped, but writers are uncritical of agriculture, biased toward agroindustry, and overlook important social and environmental issues. Newspaper farm beat reporters are closer to farm magazine writers in not trivializing agriculture and closer to general newspaper reporters in avoiding close ties with industry. Both farmers and public thus receive biased and fragmented reporting that may polarize their views on current agricultural issues. Even if reporters are aware of critical shortcomings in their coverage, improvement may require reduction in structural constraints on story choice.