Generationenabfolge – ein Faktor des Wandels in Modernisierungsprozessen. Shmuel N. Eisenstadts Beitrag zur Generationensoziologie

This paper will highlight to what extend Eisenstadt’s theory connects to the approach of historic generations. At first, his early comparative work “From Generation to Generation” is reconstructed. In this book, Eisenstadt presents a model of generations based on structural-functionalist assumptions; he conceptualizes the relation between generations and social change as a problem of system integration of specific age-groups on the one hand and the regulation of tensions between these groups on the other hand. Using the youth- and student movements as an example, this article shows how Eisenstadt’s interpretations change with the development of his theory. In the second part of this paper, it will be proposed how his approach can be developed further by interlocking his concept more closely with Mannheim’s theory of generations as well as other recent findings of socialization theory. It will furthermore be discussed, how his modernization theory has the potential to solve a theoretical problem inherent in Mannheim’s approach.     

Compensation or Reinforcement? The Stratification of Parental Responses to Children’s Early Ability

Theory and empirical evidence suggest that parents allocate their investments unequally among their children, thus inducing within-family inequality. We investigate whether parents reinforce or compensate for initial ability differences between their children as well as whether these parental responses vary by family socioeconomic status (SES). Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) and a twin fixed-effects approach to address unobserved heterogeneity, we find that parental responses to early ability differences between their children do vary by family SES. Contrary to prior findings, we find that advantaged parents provide more cognitive stimulation to higher-ability children, and lower-class parents do not respond to ability differences. No analogous stratification in parental responses to birth weight is found, suggesting that parents’ responses vary across domains of child endowments. The reinforcing responses to early ability by high-SES parents do not, however, led to increases in ability differences among children because parental responses have little effect on children’s later cognitive performance in this twin sample.     

Type-I-error rate inflation in mixed models for repeated measures caused by ambiguous or incomplete model specifications

Pre-specification of the primary analysis model is a pre-requisite to control the family-wise type-I-error rate (T1E) at the intended level in confirmatory clinical trials. However, mixed models for repeated measures (MMRM) have been shown to be poorly specified in study protocols. The magnitude of a resulting T1E rate inflation is still unknown. This investigation aims to quantify the magnitude of the T1E rate inflation depending on the type and number of unspecified model items as well as different trial characteristics. We simulated a randomized, double-blind, parallel group, phase III clinical trial under the assumption that there is no treatment effect at any time point. The simulated data was analysed using different clusters, each including several MMRMs that are compatible with the imprecise pre-specification of the MMRM. T1E rates for each cluster were estimated. A significant T1E rate inflation could be shown for ambiguous model specifications with a maximum T1E rate of 7.6% [7.1%; 8.1%]. The results show that the magnitude of the T1E rate inflation depends on the type and number of unspecified model items as well as the sample size and allocation ratio. The imprecise specification of nuisance parameters may not lead to a significant T1E rate inflation. However, the results of this simulation study rather underestimate the true T1E rate inflation. In conclusion, imprecise MMRM specifications may lead to a substantial inflation of the T1E rate and can damage the ability to generate confirmatory evidence in pivotal clinical trials.     

Family and work-related risk factors in children's social–emotional well-being and parent–educator cooperation in flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care

Non-standard work schedules (NSWS) have become typical, but their associations with childcare arrangements and children's well-being are unknown. This study explores how risk factors are associated with the social–emotional well-being of girls and boys using flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care. Furthermore, the study investigates whether well-functioning cooperation between parents and educators buffers the negative effects of the risk factors. This study, which is a part of a larger survey carried out in three European countries, reports Finnish parents' (N = 146) perspectives. The results showed that high parental stress was associated with low child well-being. Strong parent–educator cooperation positively impacted both boys' and girls' social–emotional well-being. The risk factors of reconciling work and family life had negative associations with children's well-being and the fulfilment of their basic needs. The results illustrate the complex interrelations between children's well-being, risk factors relating to NSWS and the buffering effect of protective factors.     

Supporting the agency of cities as climate migration destinations

As climate migration has garnered the interest of research and policy communities over the last two decades, the focus has been on whether, how and where climate stresses might precipitate out-migration, and how to assist and protect those affected. Less attention has gone to the places that receive climate migrants, and how their arrival might affect adaptation at destination. Against the backdrop of increasingly severe climate disruptions, this paper examines the likelihood of climate-related movements going into urban areas, and the challenges that this may entail for those who move and for urban governance. With much of climate migration projected to feed into existing urbanization trends, we see the need for data and research to help bolster the agency of communities and cities to plan and act locally, and across geographies, for inclusion and resilience, and to advocate collectively for enabling policy frameworks and increased national and international support.     

Explaining with Intentional Omissions

Determining the human activity that social processes consist in is a central task for the philosophy of the social sciences. This paper asks: which conception of agency arising from contemporary action theory is the most suitable for social science explanation? It is argued that a movement-centered, Davidsonian picture of agency is not suitable for explaining certain social processes such as strikes and boycotts because, instead of intentional bodily movements, they are explained by the intentional omissions of agents. I propose that instead of intentional bodily movements, social processes are better explained by phenomena in which an agent is taking an active relation both to her mental or bodily processes as well as to what is happening around her. Thus, to fully explain social processes, a comprehensive theory of agency that can account for intentional actions and intentional omissions and a conception of agency that includes both materialist and volitionalist aspects is needed.     

Role of social welfare in European suicide prevention

Yur'yev A, Värnik A, Värnik P, Sisask M, Leppik L. Role of social welfare in European suicide prevention The aims of this study were to assess the relationship between suicide mortality and social expenditure in 26 European countries, explore attitudes towards welfare systems and their relationship with suicide mortality, and compare attitudes towards welfare provision in Eastern and Western Europe. The World Health Organization suicide data and Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development social expenditure data for 1980–2005 were used. Data on attitudes towards welfare systems were taken from the European Social Survey. Differences between mean scores for attitudes in Western and Eastern European countries were calculated. Correlations between social expenditure and suicide trends were negative in most countries for both genders. Inverse correlations between attitudes towards welfare provision and suicide mortality rates were demonstrated for males only. Differences in attitudes were found between Eastern and Western European countries; for example, confidence in the welfare system was found to be stronger in Western Europe. Higher social expenditure and greater confidence in welfare provision appear to have suicide‐preventive effects.     

The effect of fast and slow decisions on risk taking

We experimentally compare fast and slow decisions in a series of experiments on financial risk taking in three countries involving over 1700 subjects. To manipulate fast and slow decisions, subjects were randomly allocated to responding within 7 seconds (time pressure) or waiting for at least 7 or 20 seconds (time delay) before responding. To control for different effects of time pressure and time delay on measurement noise, we estimate separate parameters for noise and risk preferences within a random utility framework. We find that time pressure increases risk aversion for gains and risk taking for losses compared to time delay, implying that time pressure increases the reflection effect of Prospect Theory. The results for gains are weaker and less robust than the results for losses. We find no significant difference between time pressure and time delay for loss aversion (tested in only one of the experiments). Time delay also leads to less measurement noise than time pressure and unconstrained decisions, and appears to be an effective way of decreasing noise in experiments.