This original contributed book will become an essential text for those teaching Ethnography, Research Methods (qualitative emphasis), applied sociology, and related subjects across Canada. Chapters in the first section of this volume consider the merits of qualitative research, profile interviewing strategies, and discuss the relationship to…

Hours allocated to discretionary and obligatory activities are analyzed through personal status variables--sex role, child-rearing responsibility, work, and income. Also, life styles are differentiated by how the discretionary time is used--social interaction, participation types of activity; passive forms of activity, or rest and relaxation. (BL)

This study investigated the results of open visitation in residential halls. The results indicated that female students reported more problems than males. There were no significant differences among female classes or when comparing hall or suite accommodations. (CG)

The complaint "I am lonely" summarizes specific interpersonal difficulties in socializing. The UCLA Loneliness Scale identifies lonely and not-lonely students who described their major interpersonal problems by performing a Q-sort with a standardized set of problems. Results show that lonely people consistently report problems of…

Examines voluntary associations of the aged. A substantial majority of respondents were affiliated and more than one-half had multiple affiliations. Women were more active in voluntary groups than men. Those belonging to multiple associations were more active in each association than individuals with only one affiliation. (Author)

Interviewed 38 adults with deafness and little schooling in Okinawa concerning their social and language environment. Many of the individuals used an indigenous gestural system shared with hearing people that enabled them to participate in the hearing community. Most had only limited contact with the deaf community and Japanese Sign Language.…

Investigated similarities and differences between close friendships and romantic relationships among 95 adolescents, who were either diabetic or healthy. Among healthy adolescents, found demonstrated time-dependent links between intimacy in both relationship types. Among diabetic adolescents, found a preference for romantic partners who offered…

The concept of risk, and its centrality to social life, is theoretically much discussed within late modernity. This paper examines young people's drug use and their drug transitions within a framework of risk drawing on findings from a longitudinal ethnographic study of drug use among young people in a Dublin inner-city community. Fifty-seven…

Fundamentalism and democracy are presented as opposing forces in a world in conflict. Fundamentalism is described both as a threat to democracy itself and also to supposedly democratic institutions such as the university. First, fundamentalism is defined in its various guises: Christian, Islamic and economic. Each of these forms is pernicious in…

As the population of older adults increases, the field of adult education needs to respond accordingly. The study reported in this paper examined motivations for learning among older adults actively engaged in formal lifelong learning. One hundred eighty-nine members of a Learning in Retirement institute were surveyed using Boshier's Education…

This paper explores how perceived attractiveness of the social life at a college/university influences potential applicants' likelihood to request information from, visit and apply to (decision approach actions) that school. Results obtained from a study of high school juniors indicate that attractiveness of social life, defined in terms of…

Recent decades have seen a proliferation of books that "listen in" on the everyday lives of girls. In their research the authors maintain that "listening" to girls in order to make claims about what they "heard" is a theoretically mediated process, and therefore it is not as straightforward as many authors imply. The…

This article illustrates two conceptual and methodological problems that interfere with the accurate identification and measurement of religious mobilization in global civil society. First, data used to study the organizational composition of global culture contain a selection bias that favors organizations within an elite stratum of the world…

Background: Little research has been conducted about the quality of life (QOL) of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Taiwan, particularly their subjective QOL. This study examined the personal perceptions of these individuals as measured on internationally recognized core QOL domains and indicators. Methods: A census interview survey…

A major goal of Asian distance education is the creation of effective formal and nonformal programs for the benefit of the poor and needy; and the primary place in which distance education usually takes place is the home. This article addresses issues fundamental to the spread of distance education in Asia--factors affecting domestic and social…