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During the 1980s the news media were filled with reports of soaring
unemployment as 'downsizing' and 'restructuring' became the new
buzzwords. Firms managed their workforce reduction by increasing
the attractiveness of their pension plans-especially their
early-retirement plans. In this volume, the authors examine the
U.S. auto industry and present a full-scale analysis of the work
and retirement decisions of its workers. They address
organizational context and the logic of financial incentives in
employer-provided early retirement plans. The impact of pension
provisions, layoffs, plant closures, attitudes about 'generational
equity', and other factors influencing the workers' evaluation of
the optimum time to end their careers in the auto industry are
explored.
What if the world population consisted of a single generation that
lived forever? Or what if each successive generation came into
being all at once and then perished before the next generation came
into existence? How would the absence of many different generations
sharing pieces of the same time-line alter how we think about the
linked processes of aging and social change? In this book, editor
Melissa Hardy presents a collection of strategies for
conceptualizing and analyzing the connections between intra-vidual
and societal change. Studying Aging and Social Change questions the
boundaries between self and society and change and stability. The
book includes classic treatments on generations and cohorts by Karl
Mannheim and Norman Ryder and presents a new theoretical
contribution that explores the meaning of aging as a social
process. Each of the six new essays develops a central theoretical
concept, linking that concept to issues of research design and
analysis. By reexamining the assumptions that underlie our
approaches to the study of change, this volume provides key
insights into how we can understand fundamental social processes
such as human development and socialization, the formation of
public opinion and political identity, and the shaping of
collective action and group behavior. This enlightening volume will
be a valuable resource for academics and students in the fields of
social work, gerontology, sociology, and family studies.
What if the world population consisted of a single generation that
lived forever? Or what if each successive generation came into
being all at once and then perished before the next generation came
into existence? How would the absence of many different generations
sharing pieces of the same time-line alter how we think about the
linked processes of aging and social change? In this book, editor
Melissa Hardy presents a collection of strategies for
conceptualizing and analyzing the connections between intra-vidual
and societal change. Studying Aging and Social Change questions the
boundaries between self and society and change and stability. The
book includes classic treatments on generations and cohorts by Karl
Mannheim and Norman Ryder and presents a new theoretical
contribution that explores the meaning of aging as a social
process. Each of the six new essays develops a central theoretical
concept, linking that concept to issues of research design and
analysis. By reexamining the assumptions that underlie our
approaches to the study of change, this volume provides key
insights into how we can understand fundamental social processes
such as human development and socialization, the formation of
public opinion and political identity, and the shaping of
collective action and group behavior. This enlightening volume will
be a valuable resource for academics and students in the fields of
social work, gerontology, sociology, and family studies.
Social scientists are often interested in studying differences in groups, such as gender or race differences in attitudes, buying behaviors, or socioeconomic characteristics. When the researcher seeks to estimate group differences through the use of independent variables that are qualitative (i.e., measured at only the nominal level), dummy variables will allow the researcher to represent information about group membership in quantitative terms without imposing unrealistic measurement assumptions on the categorical variables. Beginning with the simplest model, Hardy probes the use of dummy variable regression in increasingly complex specifications, exploring issues such as: interaction, heteroscedasticity, multiple comparisons and significance testing, the use of effects or contrast coding, testing for curvilinearity, and estimating a piecewise linear regression.
'This book provides an excellent reference guide to basic
theoretical arguments, practical quantitative techniques and the
methodologies that the majority of social science researchers are
likely to require for postgraduate study and beyond' - Environment
and Planning 'The book provides researchers with guidance in, and
examples of, both quantitative and qualitative modes of analysis,
written by leading practitioners in the field. The editors give a
persuasive account of the commonalities of purpose that exist
across both modes, as well as demonstrating a keen awareness of the
different things that each offers the practising researcher' -
Clive Seale, Brunel University 'With the appearance of this
handbook, data analysts no longer have to consult dozens of
disparate publications to carry out their work. The essential tools
for an intelligent telling of the data story are offered here, in
thirty chapters written by recognized experts. ' - Michael
Lewis-Beck, F Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Political
Science, University of Iowa 'This is an excellent guide to current
issues in the analysis of social science data. I recommend it to
anyone who is looking for authoritative introductions to the state
of the art. Each chapter offers a comprehensive review and an
extensive bibliography and will be invaluable to researchers
wanting to update themselves about modern developments' - Professor
Nigel Gilbert, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Sociology,
University of Surrey This is a book that will rapidly be recognized
as the bible for social researchers. It provides a first-class,
reliable guide to the basic issues in data analysis, such as the
construction of variables, the characterization of distributions
and the notions of inference. Scholars and students can turn to it
for teaching and applied needs with confidence. The book also seeks
to enhance debate in the field by tackling more advanced topics
such as models of change, causality, panel models and network
analysis. Specialists will find much food for thought in these
chapters. A distinctive feature of the book is the breadth of
coverage. No other book provides a better one-stop survey of the
field of data analysis. In 30 specially commissioned chapters the
editors aim to encourage readers to develop an appreciation of the
range of analytic options available, so they can choose a research
problem and then develop a suitable approach to data analysis.
The rancorous debate over the future of Social Security reached a
fever pitch in 2005 when President Bush unsuccessfully proposed a
plan for private retirement accounts. Although efforts to reform
Social Security seem to have reached an impasse, the long-term
problem the projected Social Security deficit remains. In Pension
Puzzles, sociologists Melissa Hardy and Lawrence Hazelrigg explain
for a general audience the fiscal challenges facing Social Security
and explore the larger political context of the Social Security
debate. Pension Puzzles cuts through the sloganeering of
politicians in both parties, presenting Social Security s technical
problems evenhandedly and showing how the Social Security debate is
one piece of a larger political struggle. Hardy and Hazelrigg strip
away the ideological baggage to explicate the basic terms and
concepts needed to understand the predicament of Social Security.
They compare the cases for privatizing Social Security and for
preserving the program in its current form with adjustments to
taxes and benefits, and they examine the different economic
projections assumed by proponents of each approach. In pursuit of
its privatization agenda, Hardy and Hazelrigg argue, the Bush
administration has misled the public on an issue that was already
widely misunderstood. The authors show how privatization proponents
have relied on dubious assumptions about future rates of return to
stock market investments and about the average citizen s ability to
make informed investment decisions. In addition, the administration
has painted the real but manageable shortfalls in Social Security
revenue as a fiscal crisis. Projections of Social Security revenues
and benefits by the Social Security Administration have treated
revenues as fixed, when in fact they are determined by choices made
by Congress. Ultimately, as Hardy and Hazelrigg point out, the
clash over Social Security is about more than technical fiscal
issues: it is part of the larger culture wars and the ideological
struggle over what kind of social responsibilities and rights
American citizens should have. This rancorous partisan wrangling,
the alarmist talk about a crisis in Social Security, and the
outright deception employed in this debate have all undermined the
trust between citizens and government that is needed to restore the
solvency of Social Security for future generations of retirees.
Drawing together economic analyses, public opinion data, and
historical narratives, Pension Puzzles is a lucid and engaging
guide to the major proposals for Social Security reform. It is also
an insightful exploration of what that debate reveals about
American political culture in the twenty-first century."
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