This paper seeks to integrate some ideas from family systems theory and attachment theory within a theory of public opinion and social movement. Citing the classic "The Authoritarian Personality," the paper states that the first authorities children know, their parents or other caregivers, shape children's attitudes toward all…

Millions of people around the world have lost the freedom to remain in their homes or choose where they want to live. In fact, 1 in every 125 people in this world is a refugee. For many refugees, finding a new home is a long, tedious, and painful process. Many host countries that receive refugees suffer from overpopulation, housing shortages, and…

This research study was based upon a national survey in March 1992, conducted to assess the economic literacy of the U.S. public. The survey data were used to measure the economic knowledge of the public, to identify factors that affect economic knowledge, and to evaluate the influence of economic knowledge on public opinion about current economic…

Items of Altemeyer's 1986 version of the "Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale" (RWA Scale) were analyzed as philosophical propositions in an effort to establish each item's suggestive connotation and denotation. The guiding principle of the analysis was the way in which the statements reflected authoritarianism's defining characteristics…

A secondary analysis of the "1987 Australian Election Study" examined differences in levels of partisanship, political interest, campaign media use, and the importance voters attach to media use, for voters who make up their minds during and before the campaign. Results suggest that voters who make their choice during the campaign are…

Profile includes sociological background, factors related to students' education, career plans and important objectives, political, social and educational views and attitudes. (Author/AM)

Since its independence, India's emphasis on technology has created support for universities but neglected improvement of elementary and adult education, resulting in no social or economic gains for the poor and illiterate. (ND)

Presents descriptive and analytic data about tolerance for civil liberties and dissent among the American public, asserting that support for free speech and dissent in concrete situations is more limited than support for abstract principles--a gap explained in terms of dynamics of threat, value conflict, cognitive dissociation, and socialization…

Examines the effects of work experience on attitudes and behaviors in the area of civil liberties; (1) noting that hierarchical structure, rigidity and specialization seem to generate negative effect toward civil libertarian concerns, and (2) proposing a theoretical model designed to predict the conditions under which work experience may be…

Fifteen and sixteen year olds in three comprehensive schools were asked about such topics as interest in race relations lessons, prominent politicians, social problems worthy of priority treatment, and, interest in lessons on poverty and development. It is stated that a moderate proportion showed an awareness of racial issues and an interest in…

Findings indicate that race is the most important determinant of pronoun usage, with blacks more likely to refer to the United States as "they" rather than "we". Among whites, they-saying is a phenomenon associated with lower education, though not with low income or with self identification as outside the middle class. (Author/AM)

The colonial attitude toward land depended on the climate of the area and the culture of the settlers. With independence came a national attitude that land represented economic and political freedom for the individual. Abundant land fostered unregulated lumbering, mining, and farming. Today environmental awareness has created the conservation…

Using data collected from a random sample of students at a large Eastern university, the relationship of various socio-political factors to students attitudes toward and participation in protest activity is explored. Specifically addressed is the question - Do such factors influence activist-prone youth or youth who may be drawn into protest…

A discussion of the past and current political context of black college enrollment which focuses on the Northwestern University campus social order and the norms brought to it by blacks, analyzing in detail the politicization process for black students between 1966 and 1969. The objectives are to explain fluctuations in black student political…

The dogma that art is beyond politics has cut off literary criticism from the full activities of our culture. (JH)