Social Gerentology
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INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL
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I963
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
PART O N E OLD A G E Introduction. Social gerontology: origin, scope and trends, by Clark Tibbitts Demographic ageing, by Alfred Sauvy Ageing and problems of adjustment, by Hans Thomae Further thoughts on the theory of disengagement, by Elaine C u m m i n g . Economic aspects of ageing, by Dorothy Cole Wedderburn. . . . Propositions for a sociological theory of ageing and the family, by Leopold Rosenmayr and Eva Kckeis The argument for gradually abandoning communal homes for the aged, by Peter Townsend Retivement and leisure, by Joffre Dumazedier and Aline Ripert. .
Cross-national research on old age, by Henning Friis 451 The organization of research on ageing in certain countries, by P. Paillt. 456 International University Contact for management education . . . . 465 Canadian Peace Research Institute 469 Social Science Council of Brazil 470 The International Faculty of Comparative Economics, Luxembourg . .471 Instituto Nacional de Antropologa e Historia (INAH) 471 The Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs, Inc., N e w York . 472 II. REVIEWS OF DOCUMENTS A N D BOOKS Documents and publications of the United Nations and Specialized Agencies. 474 Book reviews 488 Books received, shorter notices 499 III. N E W S A N D ANNOUNCEMENTS A seminar on the analysis of Latin American communities, Mexico, by Peter Heintz 510 Transactions of thefifthWorld Congress of Sociology, Washington . 514
CONTRIBUTORS
TO THE PRESENT
ISSUE
E L A I N E C U M M I N G , Mental Health Research Unit, Syracuse. J O F F R E D U M A Z E D I E R , Centre d'tudes Sociologiques, Paris. H E N N I N G FRIIS, Danish National Institute of Social Research, Copenhagen. P E T E R H E I N T Z , Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FL.ASCO), Santiago de Chile. E V A K C K E I S , Centre of Social Research, Vienna University. P. P A I L L T , Institut National d'Etudes Dmographiques, Paris. PETER 1 T O W N S E N D , London University and London Hospital. L E O P O L D R O S E N M A Y R , Centre of Social Research, Vienna University. A L I N E R T P E R T , Centre d'tudes Sociologiques, Paris. A L F R E D S A U V Y , Collge de France, Paris.
H A N S T H O M A E , Bonn University.
C L A R K TIBBITTS, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington. D O R O T H Y C O L E W E D D E R B U R N , University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
P A R T
O N E
OLD AGE
Social gerontology is an emergentfieldof research and teaching which is not directly concerned with the biological aspects of ageing but concentrates rather upon its economics, social psychological, sociological, and political aspects. Its object of research is not individual organisms but people as population aggregates, as members of society and its component groups, and as the creators and the carriers of culture. Specifically, social gerontology studies the status and roles of older persons, their cultural patterns, social organization, and collective behaviour as they are affected by and as they affect social change. [Burgess 1958, p. 1.]
S o m e w h a t m o r e specifically, social gerontology is concerned with changes in the social characteristics, circumstances, status, a n d roles of individuals over the second half of the life span; with the nature a n d processes of adjustm e n t , personality development, a n d mental health in the ageing individual; a n d with the biological a n d psychobiological processes of ageing in so far as they influence social capacity a n d performance in later life. Secondly, social gerontology seeks to discover the role of the environment, culture, a n d social c h a n g e as determinants o f ageing a n d of the behaviour a n d position of older people in society; the behaviour of older people as groups a n d in the aggregate; a n d their impact o n social values a n d institutions a n d o n economic, political, a n d social organization, structure, a n d function. T h e r e is not m u c h research interest o n the part of social gerontologists at present in the ageing of societies per se, save for d e m o g r a p h i c aspects, but there m a y s o m e d a y b e such interest.
ORIGIN AND G R O W T H
Social gerontology represents a confluence of several interests w h i c h h a d their origins at different stages of social evolution. S i m m o n s ' [1945] survey 1. T h e opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and d o not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. 2. References in brackets refer to the bibliography to be found at the end of this article.
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of ethnological literature revealed that m e n in preliterate societies were m u c h concerned with extending life, with getting a living with less energy expenditure, and with retaining opportunity for social participation and continued exercise of prerogatives into old age. Rather elaborate systems of intergenerational accommodation were developed in order that all age groups might take advantage of the experience and quality of judgement a m o n g the old while, at the same time, safeguarding the expectations of the younger m e n a n d protecting the position of the old. Recorded history, similarly, shows that problems of age were recognized prior to and during the period of the Greek and R o m a n civilizations. Although average life expectancy at birth was not above twenty years, some people lived into old age and were concerned with retaining vigour and social status. Cicero (trans. 1951) left a brilliant essay on the nature of old age and on occupations suited to m e n in later life. Not m u c h has been brought to light from the Dark and Middle Ages although it is k n o w n [Townsend 1961, p . 17-18] that institutions for the aged were established in Europe in the third and fourth centuries. B y the opening of the seventeenth century, Great Britain was forced into more extensive social action and set in motion a continuing p r o g r a m m e o n behalf of the aged [ibid., p . 18-39]. Somewhat similar developments took place on the continent of Europe. A s the number of aged increased, so did surveys to determine their conditions [Booth 1894]. Patterns of institutional care and relief were transferred to the American colonies. In the United States, gerontology had its scientific origins in the appearance of biological and, later, psychological research o n ageing during the present century [Tibbitts 1960a]. Scientists first became interested in the effects of time or ageing o n short-lived animals and gradually transferred some of their attention to ageing processes in h u m a n s . T h e first book on psychological senescence appeared in 1922 [Hall] and systematic research began during the thirties. Similar developments were taking place in Europe and led to the formation of a Research Club on Ageing in 1939. Social scientists entered the research field a little later. In 1943, D r . E . W . Burgess, dean of American sociologists, persuaded the Social Science Research Council to establish a Committee on Social Adjustment in O l d Age. This committee published a research planning report [Pollak 1948] which called attention to the need for research on individual adjustm e n t to ageing and retirement; old age and the family; ageing, employm e n t , and income maintenance; a n d ageing in relation to other social institutions. T h e appearance of the report was followed by the initiation of systematic studies and researches at several American universities and by increased participation of social scientists in the Gerontological Society which had been established in 1944. In 1943, the establishment of the Nuffield Foundation provided support for research and gerontological research fellowships in the United K i n g d o m [Anderson i960, p . 362]. Social science interest in ageing evolved also from the need for rational
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guidance in the solution of problems arising out of the extremely rapid increase in the n u m b e r of older people a n d out of their displacement from their traditional positions in the e c o n o m y , family, a n d c o m m u n i t y b y urbanization a n d industrialization. These, together with associated problems of chronic disease, mental illness, financial dependency, housing, family relationships, a n d retirement resulted in a growing n u m b e r of surveys during the thirties a n d forties a n d ,finally,to research. Pollak [1948] summarizes the situation indicating that the principal factors underlying the development of social research in ageing have been the greater visibility of the aged as a result of their increasing n u m b e r s a n d their growing detachment from the household a n d the w o r k force, our value system with its stress o n individual well-being, a n d the progress of research itself. W h a t w a s true in the United States m u s t have held for the countries of north-western Europe with their similar cultures a n d value systems a n d with the earlier appearance of large proportions of old people. G r o w i n g interest in research in social gerontology has been s h o w n b y Anderson [i960, p . 357-61] through analyses of the scientific literature a n d participation in international congresses of gerontology. His tabulation [ibid., Table 3 ] , showing areas of interest as revealed in the p r o g r a m m e s of international congresses of gerontology, is brought d o w n to date (with s o m e revisions) in the table below. Areas of gerontological interest as reflected by papers presented at three international congresses of gerontology
Areas of interest Third congress (London, 1954) Papers Percentage Fourth congress (Merano, 1957) Papers Percentage Fifth congress (San Francisco, i960) Papers Percentage
Biological a n d medical research Medical care Psychological research Socio-economic research Social care E c o n o m i c a n d special statistics All biological and medical A H psychological, sociological, and economic Total papers
99
21
51
11
15
0
8
0 21
10
41
20
46 25 7 3
H
170 31 38 62 41 9
201 150
48 9
11
18
12
7 73 27
100
3 57 43
100
120
61 39
100
70 196
351
A t thefifthcongress in i960 the total n u m b e r of sessions devoted to papers in the areas of social a n d applied social gerontology w a s equal to the n u m b e r devoted to biological and clinical papers. Current developments in training a n d organization for research are reported in the final sections of this essay.
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It was stated at the outset that social gerontology has c o m e to be a broad and many-faceted field concerned with both individual and societal aspects of ageing. In several respects, individual and societal phenomena of ageing are mutually interrelated and interacting. Consequently, great difficulty is encountered in undertaking to organize thefieldin systematic or clear-cut categories. For the present purpose, current research interest will be described under three topical headings: the social aspects of the ageing of the individual; the behaviour of older people as groups or in the aggregate; and ageing in its societal aspects, largely with reference to the adaptations of social practices and institutions to older people. Ageing and the individual Primary scientific interest in ageing until recently has focused o n the time-related changes in the individual organisms and personality. A s the field has developed, four principal facets have emerged: biological changes; changes in psychological capacities a n d performance; alterations in the situation and position of the individual in society; and the m a n n e r in which the ageing individual organizes his feelings, self-concepts, and behaviour in response to internal changes and to the pressures and definitions of society. Biologists consider ageing as a normal process of progressive declines in cellular composition a n d capacity for growth; in tissue structure and function; in speed, strength, and endurance of the neuromuscular system; in the function of glandular and other organ systems; and in the capacity to integrate organ systems [Shock 1951]. Parallel to these changes and no doubt related to them is a rising prevalence, with age, of long-term chronic disease [Confrey and Goldstein i960]. T h e consequences of these changes are of significance to the social gerontologist w h e n they become determinants of the social capacities and behaviour of the individual and w h e n they affect social organization and action [Rosen i960]. T h e study of psychological ageing is focusing on changes in the central nervous system, in sensory and perceptual capacities, and in ability to organize and utilize information [Anderson 1956; Birren 1959a]. T h e literature is becoming quite rich in studies of intellectual and motor perform a n c e including changes in learning, m e m o r y , creativity, speed of input and output, skills, and performance of work [Welford 1958; Birren 1959b]. Psychologists are concerned with external influences, such as cultural expectations and environmental factors o n mental performance. While the evidence points to general decline in psychological capacities, there are indications that maturation of some capacities m a y extend well into middle adulthood and that the declines are gradual and differential both within and a m o n g individuals [Birren 1959]. T h e third, or sociological, aspect of individual ageing is concerned with changes in the circumstances or situation of the individual as a m e m b e r of
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the family, community, and society. T h e changes and events associated with time include age-grading and social attitudes and behaviour of society toward the ageing individual, completion of parental and work roles, reduced income, restricted activity and mobility, loss of spouse and associates, large increments of free time, and relative absence of clearly defined societal expectations. Changes m a y occur gradually, as with restriction of activity and increase in free time, or abruptly, as is usually the case with retirement and reduced income. T h e fourth area of interest in individual ageing is, as noted above, that of the meaning to the individual of the changes identified in the preceding paragraphs and in the internal and external adjustments he makes to them. A relatively large amount of research is being reported on changes in self-image; feelings, reactions, and capacity to cope with changes in the organism and the environment; and changes in interests, attitudes toward life, and motivation. Similarly, an increasing n u m b e r of researchers are finding interest in the study of changes in roles and role behaviour [Havighurst 1957]; in the range of activities and social contacts or life space [ C u m m i n g and Henry 1961]; with use of leisure and substitutes for work; and with behaviour patterns developed by the frail and handicapped. S o m e of these are discussed in the section on group behaviour. A considerable amount of theoretical and empirical study is being devoted to the nature and processes of adjustment to ageing, to the meaning of retirement [Friedmann and Havighurst 1954]; and to the development of theories of personality change with ageing. Linden and Courtney [1953], Peck [1956], Anderson [1959], and Kuhlen [1959] have developed hypotheses regarding changes and sometimes growth in activities, interests, and motivation as aspects of the developmental process over the later life span. M o r e recently Rosen and Neugarten [i960] and C u m m i n g and Henry [1961] have advanced theories of decline of capacity for ego integration and of disengagement from social contacts and responsibilities and narrowing of life space. Buhler [1961] and Reichard, Livson, and Petersen [1962] relate changes and adjustments to basic personality types. Closely related to these studies and sometimes a part of them [ C u m m i n g and Henry 1961] have been efforts to devise scales for the measurement of adjustment in old age [Cavan, Burgess, Havighurst, and Goldhamer 1949; Kutner et al. I95 6 ]Another area of growing interest is that of psychopathology in the later years and old age [Busse 1959]. M u c h of this interest is being directed toward functional senility and its underlying factors. There are a n u m b e r of studies devoted to etiology [Lowenthal 1963] and to the effects of restoring senile deteriorates to situations in which normal stimuli are provided [Donahue 1963]. F r o m this cursory review, it is seen that ageing of the individual is recognized as a multifaceted process of maturation and decline, though including some growth potential, over the second half of the adult life span. Although m u c h current research focuses on the period beginning
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at or near age 65, there is increasing recognition that the effective onset of ageing takes place m u c h earlier. By the end of the fourth decade of life, most people are aware of declining physical energy and of the need to look for mental activity as the source of ego rewards [Peck 1956]. M a n y people, set free from the responsibilities of parenthood and competitive work activity appear to feel that they have achieved the goals set in earlier life or at least of having reached a plateau in their careers. Middle-age is thus coming to be regarded as the stage of life characterized b y both increments and decrements, with positive elements found in mental maturity, increasing freedom of choice of action, and greater diversification of opportunity for self-expression. A second turning-point appears to occur during the sixties marking the onset of later maturity which brings with it further diminution of energy, increased susceptibility to long-term illness and disability, slowing d o w n of mental capacities, a n u m b e r of losses mentioned earlier, a n d difficulty in maintaining personal integration and orientation in a future-directed society [Weinberg 1959]- During this period losses frequently exceed gains and greater difficulty is experienced in developing compensatory behaviour. T h e final period is the familiar one of old age, marked by generalized decline, withdrawal from activity, dependency resulting from poor health and inadequate income, increased focus of attention o n the self, and awareness of death. S o m e research is being directed toward further identification of the stages of later life and the changes and adjustments characteristic of them [Tibbitts 1960b]. Older people as aggregates All early societies and also contemporary undeveloped societies have had older people. T h e numbers a n d proportions of old people have been small, however, and, as S i m m o n s [1945, i960] has shown, they have been able to maintain contributory roles a n d at least a reasonably satisfactory social position. Continued growth of populations coupled with increasing life expectancy is giving rise to larger numbers and proportions of older people in nearly all societies [Huser i960]. Perhaps the basic change in their position between earlier and contemporary, industrialized, urban societies lies in the growing separation of older people from their traditional roles and position in the society a n d in the economy [Burgess 1960b]. Older people in today's highly developed societies constitute a group without a clearly defined position but with continuing need for participation a n d status-giving roles. A good deal of current research interest is focusing, therefore, o n older people as significant groups or elements in societies and on their behaviour as m e m b e r s of these older population segments. T h e principal areas of interest developed thus far are: demography, family and intergenerational roles, living arrangements, work roles, retirement and uses of leisure, and organizational activity. W h a t roles, institutionalized behaviour, and n e w
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social forms and systems are older people accepting or creating for themselves? All societies are interested in the basic demographic data of their older populations [United Nations, Department of Social and Economic Affairs, 1953; ibid., 1956]. For the United States [Sheldon 1958] has analysed trends and present status of the numbers, proportions, age and sex distribution, marital status, and geographic distribution of older people. Burgess [1960a] and Huser [i960] have presented comparative data for underdeveloped and highly developed countries. A t least one attempt has been m a d e to forecast changes in life expectancy at various ages [Tarver 1959]. Family relationships of older people are attracting the attention of researchers in several countries. In all developing societies, the kinship system, which afforded role, status, a n d security in the simple social economies, is giving w a y to the nuclear family of one or two generations with older couples and unrelated individuals tending to become a relatively independent generation. A n u m b e r of students [Burgess 1960b] have begun to investigate intergenerational relationships and patterns, roles of older people in the extended family [Townsend 1957], and changing concepts of family responsibility for the old [Streib a n d T h o m p s o n i960]. A symposium on family structure and relationships in connexion with the fifth International Congress of Gerontology brought together students from all parts of the world [Tibbitts and D o n a h u e 1962, p . 405-534] w h o reported o n trends in their countries. Comparatively little attention has been given to relationships between older people and grandchildren, to patterns a n d problems of three-generation living, a n d to husband-wife relationships in the post-parental period. A related area of interest to students is that of the living arrangements of older people. Research w a s reported at thefifthinternational congress [ibid., p . 301-99] on attitudes and preferences of older people toward various types of housing and o n social integration and personal and social adjustment of older people in special housing and institutional settings. Continued participation of older people in the work force and withdrawal from it has c o m e to be a major interest of social gerontologists. Retirement from work is rapidly becoming an institutionalized pattern in highly developed societies [Donahue, O r b a c h and Pollak i960], but it is still far from universally accepted and gives rise to numerous problems. Research is being reported o n such matters as changes in work-life expectancy; occupational shifts a n d extent of labour force participation of older workers [Slavick a n d Wolfein i960]; capacities, characteristics, and perform a n c e of older workers; trainability [Welford 1950]; criteria for retirement; and attitudes toward and the meaning of work [Friedmann and Havighurst 1954]. T h e shift from the worker to the retirement role is recognized as one of the most drastic changes in the later years, with the consequence that a fair amount of research is being done on the process of retirement, anticipatory attitudes and behaviour, and adjustment of retirees and family members [Streib and T h o m p s o n 1958; D o n a h u e , Orbach, and Pollak i960].
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A principal challenge a n d problem to older people is h o w to m a k e use of the increments of free time resulting from shorter hours of work, earlier completion of parental responsibilities, and retirement. Social gerontologists have become interested in such questions as persistence of earlier roles a n d role changes [Havighurst 1957]; activities and life styles in retirement [ C u m m i n g and Henry 1961]; and in the conceptualization and meaning of leisure to older people [Kaplan i960]. Kleemeier [1961] edited Aging and Leisure, a collection of papers designed to organize existing knowledge in the field and to develop proposals for further research. Havighurst [1960] surveyed the development of leisure roles and activities in several countries of Western Europe. Another area of interest to students of ageing is the role of organizations in the lives of older people. Burgess [1960a] has suggested that older people in industrialized societies increasingly satisfy their needs through organizations. Although G u m m i n g a n d Henry [1961] report diminishing participation in organizations with advancing age, one of the striking current p h e n o m e n a is the rapid growth of clubs a n d community centres for older people. O n e intensive study [Schramm a n d Storey 1961] has been reported on the types of older people w h o participate and o n the nature of their participation in activities a n d leadership roles. There is also interest in the roles of older people in the political process [Donahue and Tibbitts 1962], in the rise of pressure groups of older persons [ibid.], a n d in the possibility of a sub-committee of the aged. Barron [1953] has suggested that older people in the aggregate bear some of the characteristics of a minority group and Rose [1962] has analysed the potentials for group identification on the basis of age and commonality of interest. T h e development of peer reference groups has been considered by R o s o w [1962] in relation to the matter of role expectations and styles of life in the later years. Societal adaptations to older people Societies have always taken cognizance of their older people and have developed roles and expectations for t h e m and, w h e n necessary, measures to ensure their position and protection. Social intervention a n d the assumption of collective responsibility for m a n y service functions is characteristic of all developing and developed societies [Cottrell 1960a]. T h e growing numbers of older people are forcing nearly all societies to give recognition to the needs of the ageing and aged a n d to develop programmes and facilities for meeting them. Social gerontology becomes concerned, therefore, with the impact of older people on the social system and with the nature of societal responsibility for them. O n e aspect which is just beginning to receive recognition is the potential effect of older people o n the quality and vitality of populations [Valaoras 1958; Huser and Vargas i960]. Closely related is the question of the place society will provide for its older and retired people. R o s o w [1962] points out
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that w e have created the older population but have provided n o positive expectations for them. Another question of interest to social gerontology is whether a society can have a value system that assigns status for work during early and middle adulthood and equal status for retirement roles in the later years. O r is the attitude toward work changing to the view that work is merely the means of producing commodities and services required and increasing opportunity for non-work activity? It w a s pointed out earlier that older people generally seek to be independent from their adult children. Nevertheless, one-fourth of the older people in the United States share dwelling units with adult children and the kinds of responsibility middlegeneration families will be expected to carry remains a significant question for study. O n e of the most compelling areas of social gerontology has to d o with the impact of older people o n the economy. It was suggested earlier that changes in methods of production and distribution have been a m o n g the major factors in altering the status of roles of older adults in all industrialized economies. Conversely, older people create d e m a n d s o n the economy. A great deal of study is being given to the utilization of the increasing numbers of middle-aged and older workers in the labour force, particularly in rapidly changing, mechanized industries. Methods of supporting older persons released from the work force are the subject of study in every industrialized country [Corson and McConnell 1956; Steiner and Dorfman 1957; Cohen i960]. Income needs of older people, budgetary requirements, and the capacity of economies to meet them constitute another significant research area [McConnell 1958]. Retirement pension programmes have led to the accumulation of huge reserves which leads, in turn, to questions of h o w they m a y best be used and their possible effects o n stimulating or retarding production [Harbrecht 1959]. Finally, there is the area of the impact of older people o n governmental organization and function. Little research has been done in this area but m a n y problems are raised [Cottrell 1960b]. H o w m u c h governmental intervention is necessary in providing financial security, health services, housing, welfare services, and educational and recreational opportunities? W h a t are the optimal divisions of responsibility a m o n g various levels of government and between governmental and non-governmental agencies? W h a t patterns and organization for services at the c o m m u nity level are proving to be effective? Another series of questions turns on the matter of the response of government bureaux and legislative bodies to the requests of older people for a larger share of national income and services. H o w are these met and what conflicts arise between older people and other interest groups?
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Academic training and organized research in social gerontology have grown fairly rapidly over the pastfifteenyears, especially in the United States. T h e Gerontological Society membership n o w stands at about 2,300, of which approximately 350 m e m b e r s are in the psychology-social science (social gerontology) division and some 200 in the social welfare (applied social gerontology) division. T h e psychology-social science division has been particularly active in promoting teaching and research. Significant impetus was given to social gerontology through the activities of a sixteen-member Inter-University Council of Social Gerontology working under the chairmanship of the University of Michigan [Donahue i960]. Between 1957 and i960, the Council's project, supported by the National Institutes of Health, produced three handbooks conceptualizing and organizing knowledge in the field [Birren 1959a; Tibbitts 1960b; Burgess 1960c] and, in two month-long s u m m e r institutes, trained a total of seventy-five college and university faculty m e m b e r s in the basic aspects of individual and societal ageing. Approximately 80 per cent of these faculty m e m b e r s were in the basic behavioural and social sciences. In addition, the project produced five course syllabuses in ageing and conducted three national inventories of university research and training in social gerontology. Adopting the pattern of handbook preparation, the psychology-social science division of the Gerontological Society has carried o n two projects aimed at exploring and conceptualizing significant, underdeveloped areas of research. O n e of these resulted in publication of Aging and Leisure [Kleemeier 1961], mentioned earlier, which sets forth a systematic approach to the topic. T h e other project, n o w being completed, approaches the subject of family and intergenerational relationships of older people in similar fashion. A number of universities have created special facilities for research and training in social gerontology, or in a particular phase of the field. A t present, ten American universities have institutes of gerontology conducting research, providing opportunity for student training in research in ageing, offering short courses for currently employed professional personnel, and giving consultation service to individuals and groups working in the field. Thirteen universities have an interdisciplinary committee or council to foster research and arrange training programmes for students w h o wish to specialize in ageing. Eight universities have established research centres. T h e majority of these are under biological or medical auspices but most of them encourage and facilitate research in social gerontology. Opportunity for specialization in ageing at the Master's and Doctoral levels is afforded at the University of Chicago, Washington University (Saint Louis) with emphasis o n the psychology of ageing, at Purdue University with emphasis o n the sociology of ageing, and at the University of Michigan where special programmes are arranged in accordance
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with student interest. A total of approximately 105 courses in gerontology are being offered seventy colleges and universities throughout the country. Training and research are being stimulated further by the development of curricula for training in the psychology of ageing and in social gerontology, by the support of research and training by several agencies of the Federal Government, and by systematic effort by the Office of Ageing in the Welfare Administration of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to foster the development of institutes of social gerontology in universities. Similar centres have been developed in several European countries primarily for research and for studies commissioned by governmental agencies. T h e United K i n g d o m has the longest history of such activity. Studies of the Nuffield Research Unit into Problems of Ageing, supported for several years at Cambridge University, c o m m a n d international attention. T h e University of Bristol and the London School of Economics have major research teams working in socio-economic aspects of ageing. T h e National Corporation for the Care of Old People [i960; Beavan i960] supports research and maintains a running inventory of research in progress throughout the country. In D e n m a r k , the National Institute of Social Research; in Sweden, the Social Institute of Stockholm; and in the Netherlands, the Foundation for Applied Scientific Research conduct research on social, economic, and public health problems of ageing. France has the Centre de Grontologie, with divisions for psychological and social science research; the Institut des Sciences Sociales du Travail and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique which are doing research on social and psychological ageing. Descriptions of research in social gerontology in Europe have been provided by Anderson [i960], V a n Zonneveld [1958] and Welford [1958]. T h e biennial congresses conducted by the International Association of Gerontology have helped greatly to m o v e thefieldforward. Social gerontology and applied social gerontology have organized programmes separate from those in biology and clinical medicine in 1951, 1954, I957} i960 and 1963. T h e fourth (1957) and fifth (i960) congresses produced separate reports in the area of social gerontology [International Association of Gerontology 1959a; Kaplan and Aldridge 1962; Tibbitts and Donahue 1962]. T h e Social Science Research Committee of the International Association of Gerontology has strong European and American branches. T h e European branch held a research seminar in 1956 [International Association of Gerontology 1958] and the two branches jointly have held seminars in 1957, i960, and 1963 [International Association of Gerontology 1959b; Williams, Tibbitts, and D o n a h u e 1963]. T h e seminars bring together scholars eager to exchange ideas and experience o n research findings and methodological problems, lead to international exchange of research personnel, and to parallel or joint studies. A major study of adjustment, economic, health, and family status of old people in Denmark, the United K i n g d o m , and the United States is n o w in the analysis stage.
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It was noted at the outset that social gerontology had its origin largely in the recognized need for scientific information as a guide to the solution of individual and social problems of ageing. Programme development in public health, income security systems, mental health and rehabilitation, housing, retirement preparation and activities, and social services has grown rapidly. Professional workers in related fields have shown keen interest in improving their competence and skill with regard to the problems of ageing and in the application of scientific knowledge in programme development and environmental planning for older people. In most countries of Western Europe and also in the United States, liberal use is m a d e of scientific surveys to determine the characteristics of older people, the dimensions of their needs, and the resources available to meet them. [See, for example, V a n Zonneveld 1961.] Another promising development is the growing n u m b e r of scientific evaluations of existing institutions for older people exemplified b y the study of Little House, an activity centre for senior citizens [ S c h r a m m and Storey 1961] and T o w n send's [1962] recent report, The Last Refuge: a survey of residential homes for the aged in England and Wales. P r o g r a m m e and policy studies and research are conducted or supported by governments of most countries on the European and American continents and also in other countries, notably Australia, N e w Zealand and Japan. There is no fast dividing line between so-called research aimed at establishing generalized knowledge of basic processes and programme research aimed at scientific investigation or evaluation of specific programmes and policies. S o m e studies are fruitful as to both objectives. Hence, there is a good deal of research co-operation and integration between social gerontology and the applied field. Training in ageing in the professions is growing, too. T h e Scandinavian countries and the United K i n g d o m have long had intensive training for personnel of homes for the aged and the United States has one four-year undergraduate training programme in thisfield.T h e recently organized American Association of H o m e s for the A g e d is concerned with raising the level of qualifications for personnel and encouraging the development of career training. Short courses, conferences and institutes are being offered for employed personnel in adult education, recreation, social work, public welfare, religion, housing, architecture, and community education. T h e American Public Welfare Association, with a large grant from the Ford Foundation, is well advanced on a series of projects aimed at improving competence for work with older people through schools of social work and in-service training. O n e of the compelling needs recognized in the United States is for individuals with broad training in ageing and in community organization to serve as programme planners, co-ordinators, and consultants at all levels of governmental and voluntary organization. In response to this need, the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 350
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with the aid of a large n u m b e r of professional specialists in ageing, has just published a proposed two-year graduate curriculum in social gerontology for the use of universities a n d professional schools.
CONCLUSION
T h e purpose of this essay has been to show that the increasing n u m b e r of older people and the revolutionary social and technological changes that have taken place have raised the individual and societal aspects of ageing to front-rank status in the scientific community. Social gerontology is emerging rapidly as a dominant aspect of the total field of gerontology. It is already being differentiated into components concerned with the ageing of the individual as a social unit, with the influence of society o n individual ageing, and, reciprocally, with the effect of older people on the value system and o n the structure and institutions of society. T h e need for research and training in the field is being recognized and colleges and universities are responding to it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY A N D E R S O N , J. E . 1956. Summary and interpretation. In: J. E . Anderson (ed.), Psychological aspects of aging. Washington, D . C . , American Psychological Association, p . 267-89. '959- T h e uses of time and energy. In: J. E . Birren (ed.), Handbook of aging and the individual. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 769-96. . i960. Research in aging. In: E . W . Burgess (ed.), Aging in Western societies: a comparative survey. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 354-76. B A R R O N , M . L . 1953. Minority characteristics of thea ged in American society. J. Geront., vol. 8, p . 477-82. B E A V A N , J. C . 1959. T h e Nuffield Foundation and the study of aging. In: E . W . Burgess (ed.), Aging in Western societies. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. B I R R E N , J. E . 1959a. Principles of research on aging. In: J. E . Birren (ed.), Handbook of aging and the individual. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 3-42. . 1959b. Handbook of aging and the individual: psychological and biological aspects. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. B O O T H , C . 1894. The aged poor in England and Wales. London, Macmillan and C o . B U H L E R , Charlotte. 1961. Meaningful living in the later years. In: R . W . Kleemeier (ed.), Aging and leisure. N e w York, Oxford University Press, p . 345-88. B U R G E S S , E . W . 1958. Preface. J. Soc. Issues, vol. 14, p . 1-2. . 1960a. Aging in Western cultures. In: E . W . Burgess (ed.), Aging in Western societies. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 3-28. . 1960b. Family structures and relationships. In: E . W . Burgess (ed.), op. cit., p. 271-98. . (ed). 1960C Aging in Western societies: a comparative survey. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. BUSSE, E . W . 1959. Psychopathology. In: J. E . Birren (ed.), Handbook of aging and the individual. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p. 364-99.
C A V A N , Ruth; B U R G E S S , E . W . ; H A V I G H U R S T , R . J.; G O L D H A M E R , H . 1949. Personal
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C I C E R O . 1951. O n old age. In: M . Hadas (ed.), The bask works of Cicero. N e w York, M o d e r n Library. C O H E N , W . J . i960. Income maintenance and medical insurance. In: E . W . Burgess (ed.), Aging in Western societies. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 76-105. C O N F R E Y , E . A . ; G O L D S T E I N , M . S . i960. T h e health status of aging people. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), Handbook of social gerontology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 165-207. C O R S O N , J. J.; M C C O N N E L L , J. W . 1956. Economic needs of older people. N e w York, T h e Twentieth Century F u n d . C O T T R E L L , F . 1960a. T h e technological and societal basis of aging. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), op. cit., p . 92-119. . 1960b. Government functions and the politics of age. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), op. cit., p . 666-97. C U M M I N G , Elaine; H E N R Y , W . E . 1961. Growing old. N e w York, Basic Books Inc. D O N A H U E , W i l m a , i960. Trends in social gerontology. Geriatrics, vol. 15, p . 801-g. . 1963. Rehabilitation of long-term aged patients. In: R . H . Williams, C . Tibbitts and W i l m a D o n a h u e , Process of aging: sociological and psychological perspectives. N e w York, Atherton Press. ; O R B A C H , H . L . ; P O L L A K , O . i960. Retirement: the emerging social pattern. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), Handbook of social gerontology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 340-406. ; TIBBITTS, C . (eds.). 1962. Politics of age. A n n Arbor, Division of Gerontology, University of Michigan. F R I E D M A N N , E . A . ; H A V I G H U R S T , R . J. 1954. The meaning of work and retirement. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. H A L L , G . S . 1922. Senescence: the last half of life. N e w York, Appleton and C o . H A R B R E C H T , P . P . 1959. Pension funds and economic power. N e w York, T h e Twentieth Century F u n d . H A U S E R , P . M . ; V A R G A S , R . i960. Population structure and trends. In: E . W . Burgess (ed.), Aging in Western societies. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, P- 29-53H A V I G H U R S T , R . J. 1957. T h e social competence of middle-aged people. Genetic Psychol. Monographs, vol. 56, p . 297-375. . i960. Life beyond family and work. In: E . W . Burgess (ed.), Aging in Western societies. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 299-353.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION O FGERONTOLOGY. 1958. The need for cross-national
surveys of old age: report of a conference at Copenhagen, October 19-23, 1956. A n n Arbor, Division of Gerontology, University of Michigan. ' 9 5 9 a - Aging and social health in the United States and Europe. Report of an international seminar held at Merano, Italy, July 9-13, 1957. A n n Arbor, Division of Gerontology, University of Michigan. . 1959b. Fourth congress. V.III. Sociological Division. Fidenza, Italy, International Association of Gerontology. K A P L A N , J.; A L D R I D G E , G . J. (eds.). 1962. Social welfare of the aging. Aging around the world. Proceedings of the Fifth Congress of the International Association of Gerontolo N e w York a n d London, Columbia University Press. K A P L A N , M . i960. T h e uses of leisure. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), Handbook of social gerontology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 407-43. K L E E M E I E R , R . W . (ed.). 1961. Aging and leisure: a research perspective into the meaningfu use of time. N e w York, Oxford University Press. K U H L E N , R . G . 1959. Aging a n d life-adjustment. In: J. E . Birren (ed.), Handbook of aging and the individual. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 852-97. K U T N E R , B . , et al. 1956. Five hundred over sixty. N e w York, Russell Sage Foundation. L I N D E N , M . E . ; C O U R T N E Y , D . 1953. T h e h u m a n life cycle and its interruptions: a psychological hypothesis. Am. J. Psychiat., vol. 109, p . 906-15. L o w E N T H A L , Marjorie F . 1963. S o m e social dimensions of psychiatric disorders in 352
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old age. In: R . H . Williams, C . Tibbitts and W i l m a D o n a h u e (eds.), Process of aging: sociological and psychological perspectives. N e w York, Atherton Press. M C C O N N E L L , J. W . 1958. The impact of aging on the economy. J. Geront., vol. 13 (suppl. no. 2), p. 42-7.
N A T I O N A L C O R P O R A T I O N F O R T H E C A R E O F O L D P E O P L E , i960. Old age: a register of
research. London, The National Corporation for the Care of Old People. P E C K , R . 1956. [Psychological developments in the second half of l f . In: ie J. E . Anderson (ed.), Psychological aspects of aging. Washington, D . C . , American Psychological Association, p. 42-53. P O L L A K , O . 1948. Social adjustment in old age. N e w York, Social Science Research Council. R E I C H A R D , Suzanne; LrvsoN, Florine; PETERSEN, P . G . 1962. Aging and personality. New York and London, John Wiley and Sons Inc. R O S E , A . M . 1962. The subculture of the aging: a topic for sociological research. The Gerontologist, vol. 2, p . 123-30. R O S E N , G . i960. Health programs for a n aging population. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), Handbook of social gerontology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 521-48. R O S E N , Jaqueline L . ; N E U G A R T E N , Bernice L . i960. E g o functions in the middle and later years: a thematic apperception study of normal adults. J. Geront., vol. 15, p . 62-7. R o s o w , I. 1962. Old age: one moral dilemma of an affluent society. The Gerontologist, vol. 2 , p . 182-91. S C H R A M M , W . ; S T O R E Y , R u c h T . 1961. Little House: a study of senior citizens. M e n l o Park, Calif., Peninsula Volunteers Inc. S H O C K , N . W . 1951. Biology of aging. In: T . L . Smith (ed.), Problems of America's aging population. Gainesville, University of Florida Press, p . 37-46. S H E L D O N , H . D . 1958. The older population of the United States. N e w York, John Wiley and Sons. S I M M O N S , L . W . 1945. The role of the aged in primitive society. N e w H a v e n , C o n n . , Yale University Press. . i960. Aging in preindustrial societies. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), Handbook of social gerontology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 62-91. S L A V I C K , F . ; W O L F B E I N , S . L . i960. T h e evolving work-life pattern. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), Handbook of social gerontology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 298329S T E I N E R , P . O . ; D O R F M A N , R . 1957. The economic status of the aged. Berkeley, U n i versity of California Press.
STREIB, G . F.; T H O M P S O N , W . E . (eds.). 1958. Adjustment in retirement. In:
J. Soc. Issues, vol. 14, no. 2, p . 3-60. . i960. T h e older person in a family context. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), Handbook of social gerontology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p . 447-88. TIBBITTS, C . 1960a. Origin, scope, and fields of social gerontology. In: C . Tibbitts (ed.), Handbook of social gerontology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. . 1960b. Handbook of social gerontology: societal aspects of aging. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. TIBBITTS, C ; D O N A H U E , W i l m a (eds.). 1962. Social and psychological aspects of aging. Aging around the world. Proceedings of the Fifth Congress of the International Association of Gerontology. N e w York and L o n d o n , Columbia University Press. T O W N S E N D , P . 1957. The family life of old people. L o n d o n , Routledge and K e g a n Paul. . 1962. The last refuge: a survey of residential institutions and homes for the aged. London, Routledge and K e g a n Paul. T R A V E R , J. D . 1959. Projections of mortality in the United States. The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, vol. 37, p. 132-43.
UNITED NATIONS. D E P A R T M E N T O F SOCIAL A N D ECONOMIC AFFAIRS. 1953. The
determinants and consequences of population trends. (Population studies, no. N e w York, United Nations.
17.)
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. 1956. The aging population and its social and economic implications. (Population studies, no. 26.) N e w York, United Nations. V A L A O R A S , V . G . 1958. Y o u n g and aged populations. Ann. Am. Acad. Political and Social Sei., vol. 361, p . 69-83. V A N Z O N N E V E L D , R . J . 1958. Public health and the aged in Europe: research and programs. J. Geront., vol. 13 (supplement n o . 1), p . 68-91. . 1961. The health of the aged. Assen (Netherlands), V a n G o r c u m and C o . W E I N B E R G , J. 1959. Aging of groups. In: Veterans Administration, VA prospectus: research on aging. Washington, D . C . , United States Government Printing Office. W E L F O R D , A . T . 1958. Psychological and social gerontology in Europe. J. Geront., vol. 13 (supplement no. 1), p . 61-7. . 1950. Skill and age. London, Oxford University Press. W I L L I A M S , R . H . ; T I B B I T T S , C ; D O N A H U E , W i l m a (eds.). 1963. Processes of aging: social and psychological perspectives. N e w York, Atherton Press.
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DEMOGRAPHIC AGEING
ALFRED S A U V Y
Ageing, in the demographic sense of the term, refers to the age distribution of a population. A population with a larger proportion of old than of young people is called, a priori, an older population. A population can therefore be said to be ageing, if it is moving towards such a distribution. Demographic ageing raises m a n y economic, social and political problems. But first the concept itself should be defined.
DEFINITION OF AGEING
Ageing could be defined by reference to the average age of the population. This is a n unsatisfactory index, however, and it is not often used. It does not reflect changes in distribution accurately, nor does it show clearly the effects of old age. Age groups T h e practice usually adopted is to divide the population into three groups young people, adults and old peoplegiving these terms either a biological or a n economic interpretation. But whichever of these is adopted, any population, at a given time, has the following distribution:
P = T + A + 0,
P being used to denote the total population, Y the n u m b e r of young people, A the n u m b e r of adults, and 0 the number of old people. F r o m these three groups the following indices of ageing m a y be obtained: OjP is the ratio of old people to the total population; 0\Y is the ratio of old people to young people; 0\A is the ratio of old people to adults. In each case the n u m b e r of old people is the numerator. W e shall n o w consider the advantages of each of these indices. T h e 0\P index is the one most often used, since it is the simplest and the easiest to interpret. It fits the initial concept of ageing m o r e exactly than d o the others. T h e 0/Y index, which has been called the old age index of a population,
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is more sensitive than thefirst,and it has the added advantage of showing another factorthe n u m b e r of young people. A s long as the age distribution continued to m o v e in the direction referred to below, so that the population w a s concentrated around the middle years of life, this index was to all intents and purposes as reliable as thefirst,in addition to which it was more sensitive. It, too, showed h o w far a population had evolved in its progress from a primitive to a highly developed stage (in the demographic sense of these words). Since the birth rate began to rise in Western countries, however, the established pattern has changed; the n u m b e r of young people is no longer diminishing even as compared with the former rate, and in some cases even it is increasing. O f course, it is very useful to k n o w h o w m a n y young people there are in a population, but the OjP index appears preferable for dealing with the problem under consideration. T h e last index, 0\A, is useful mainly in relation to economic problems, especially the question of retirement and old age pensions. T h e index w e shall use most frequently in this study is OfP, which shows the proportion of old people to the total population. The period of old age Lastly, there is the question of w h e n old age begins. Before the war, 60 was the age generally accepted, and m a n y statistical tables were consequently drawn u p on the basis of that figure. Since the war, the tendency has been to take 65 as the beginning of old agea change which is itself one of the consequences of ageing. O n e day, perhaps, w h e n the proportion of very old peoplethose over 75 or 80 years of ageis m u c h larger, a special index will be worked out for them, so that their particular characteristics m a y be taken into account.
B y demographic causes w e m e a n the purely numerical mechanism of ageing, without reference to economic and social factors. T h e possible causes of demographic ageing in this sense are: (a) the initial age composition of the population; (b) mortality and, more exactly, death rates at each age; (c) natality and, more exactly, fertility rates at each age; and (d) migration. T h e effect of the initial age composition is obvious. If a population is initially composed almost entirely of young people and adults, its proportion of old people will naturally increase steadily; this occurs in certain n e w towns and still more markedly in large neighbourhood units, in most of which young couples predominate at the outset. T h e effect of the initial age composition must of course be taken into
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account in specific cases, b u t it must b e disregarded in determining the laws governing ageing. Leaving aside migrations for the m o m e n t , w e are faced with t w o basic factorsbirth rate (fertility) a n d death rate. For a long time it w a s believed, a n d indeed m a n y people still believe, that ageing is wholly or partially d u e to a decline in mortality. It is natural e n o u g h to think that the prolongation of the life span from 3 0 to 7 0 years has caused or, at least, accentuated demographic ageing. W e shall see that this is not so. Influence of the death rate (mortality) T h e decline in the death rate has hitherto h a d n o noticeable effect o n age distribution, a n d a n y effect it m a y have h a d has rather been to produce a younger population. This m a y b e proved experimentally, a n d it also has a logical explanation. In order to isolate the effect of mortality, w e m a y : (a) observe age composition in those countries w h e r e the death rate has changed; (b) ascertain h o w this age composition would have evolved in the past h a d the birth rate remained constant; (c) ascertain h o w a population w o u l d evolve today if the birth rate remained constant a n d the death rate fell; a n d (d) study the evolution of a sample population with a constant birth rate and a falling death rate. These various methods h a v e actually been used, a n d they have all produced the s a m e result. F o r our present purposes it will b e sufficient to mention a few of the proofs:1 In western E u r o p e a n populations, the death rate began to fall in 1800, long before the fall in the birth rate, w h i c h b e g a n in m a n y countries after 1870 or even after 1880 (except in France, w h e r e it b e g a n as early as 1800). It is already clear that in these countries ageing occurred only after the fall in the birth rate. In Great Britain, for e x a m p l e , the percentage of people aged 6 5 a n d over w a s 4 . 6 4 in 1850 (probably very nearly the s a m e percentage as in 1780 or 1800), a n d it w a s only 4.62 in 1880. It w a s only from then o n that there w a s a n y substantial rise5.22 in 1910, 6.03 in 1930 a n d 10.83 in 1950 a n d it w a s in 1875-80 that the birth rate b e g a n to fall. Turning to F o r m o s a , w e find that the death rate fell steeply between 1905 a n d 1940, the expectation of life at birth having risen from 2 8 4 to 4 4 a n d the death rate having fallen from 2 5 . 3 per thousand in 1920-24 to approximately 10 per thousand in 1940-50. T h e birth rate rose only slightly, from 4 0 . 9 per thousand in 1920-24 to approximately 4 5 per thousand in 1940-50.
1. A useful work of reference on this subject is The Aging of Populations and its Economic and Social Implications, published by the United Nations in 1956 (Population Studies N o . 26), p . 21-49.
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T h e proportion of people aged 6 0 a n d over w a s 4.5 per cent in 1905, 4.4 per cent in 1925, a n d 4.8 per cent in 1940. All comparable examples lead to the same conclusions. These methods, however, are not particularly accurate, since the fertility rate is only approximately constant, and the results m a y have been affected b y the initial age composition a n d also b y migrations. Projections of a given population, either past or present, are m o r e indicative, for they m a k e it possible to take into account conditions where fertility is constant a n d there are n o migrations, while the death rate can be varied as necessary. M a n y demographers have adopted this method. M r . Depoid's projections are noteworthy, in that they cover a very wide range. H e found that where fertility is constant, at whatever level, the proportion of people aged 60 years a n d over remains almost the same. T h e most conclusive test is that applied to a sample stable population (stable in the demographic sense). It yields the following results: T h e fall in the death rate that has occurred so far in developed countries has h a d only a very slight effect o n the proportion of old people; but it has slightly reduced the proportion of adults and increased that of y o u n g people. Influence of the birth rate (fertility) This factor is not verifiable b y applying purely experimental methods to historical data, because there is n o k n o w n case of a population in which the birth rate has fallen appreciably while the death rate has remained constant. But projections based o n a past or present population a n d the sample stable population method both lead to the s a m e conclusionthat the specific cause of the ageing of populations has hitherto been a fall in the birth rate; it m a y even be said to be the only cause, if what m a y b e described as accidental p h e n o m e n a , such as initial age composition a n d migrations, are disregarded. How these influences work
T h e effect o n a fall in the birth rate is obvious; it reduces the n u m b e r of young people a n d , a little later, the n u m b e r of adults, but it does not affect the n u m b e r of old people until sixty years later, a n d so the proportion of the latter rises. T h e fall in the n u m b e r of adults, in its turn, further reduces the relative n u m b e r of young people. A fall in the death rate has a m o r e complex effect. A lower rate of infant mortality results in an increase in the n u m b e r of very young children, thus leading to rejuvenation, just as a rise in the birth rate would d o . O n the other hand, a fall in the death rate of old people obviously leads to population ageing. A t ages between childhood a n d old age, its effect is probably neutral.
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M r . J. Bourgeois-Pichat has shown that, at the final stable stage, a fall in the death rate of people over (approximately) 30 increases the proportion of old people to adults. This increased proportion is one of the definitions of ageing, and in a stable population it is as valid as any. N o a priori statement can therefore be m a d e ; the law of the decline in the birth rate is the decisive factor. Hitherto, the decreasing death rate of young people has been far more responsible than that of old people and adults for the increase in the life span. In Western populations, the fall in the infant birth rate alone has probably increased the average life span by about ten years. It has helped to increase the absolute n u m b e r (whence the popular misconception) but not the proportion of old people. However, if the endogenous causes of death (cardiovascular disease, cancer and general senescence) can be removed, the decline in the death rate m a y result in marked ageing. In a stationary population in which everybody lived to be 100, the proportion of sexagenarians would be 40 per centa figure which n o country has yet attained or is likely to attain. In any case, it would seem that the decline in the death rate can be expected to lead to future ageing of the population. Furthermore, turning to a different type of model, it must be r e m e m bered that the death rate and the fertility rate are to some extent interdependent. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, since in certain European countries in the nineteenth century and in the uncommitted world in the twentieth century, the fertility rate remained unchanged despite a marked decline in the death rate. But it must be admitted that in the long run, for various sociological reasons or simply for economic reasons, a decline in the death rate, particularly the infant death rate, tends to reduce the fertility rate. It seems likely that all populations will m o v e , as Western populations have, from a state which is nearly stable (in the demographic sense of the word) in which they have a high fertility rate, a high death rate and a young population, to a different statealso nearly stablein which they have a low fertility rate, a low death rate and an older population. Between these two relatively stable states there is a transitional stage, only just entered by certain countries, in which only the death rate has varied. Ageing in relation to sex Here the problem is a different one, for the two sexes vary more widely as regards death rate than birth rate. Differential mortality has to be taken into account, w o m e n having a longer life span than m e n .
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Effect of migration T h e effect of both immigration and emigration obviously depends o n the age at which they take place. It is, of course, essential to take into account not only the migrants themselves but also the children they will have (in the case of immigration) or would have had (in the case of emigration) . In actual fact, migration as a general rule concerns not old people but young adults between the ages of 20 and 35. If these migrants have as high a fertility rate as the rest of the population and they take their children with them, the consequence will normally be rejuvenation in the case of immigration and ageing in the case of emigration. It is all a matter of proportion, as if old people had been added (in the case of emigration) or taken a w a y (in the case of immigration). If immigration is a continuous process and is maintained at the same rate, the effect will also be continuous. If migration lasts for a limited period only and then stops, its effect will be transitory and the population will eventually regain the age composition proper to its fertility and death rates. W e have seen that a decline in the death rate of people of over 30 results in the ageing of the final stable population. Immigration has a similar influenceimmigration by people at a given age has the same effect as a decline in the death rate at that age. T h e above argument is based on the assumption that the migrants were married couples, w h o took their children with them. However, it frequently happens that migrations are largely restricted to m e n . W e must therefore n e w consider a case of migration of m e n only. Since the number of marriageable m e n decreases in countries from which emigration takes place, ageing in such countries is almost as high as if couples were emigrating. O n the other hand, the influx of marriageable m e n produces almost no permanent rejuvenation in the countries to which they migrate. These results are not surprising. In both countries, the separation of the sexes leads to a reduction in the birth rate and consequently to ageing. Migration to urban areas usually involves both sexes, and results in ageing of the rural population and less rapid ageing of the urban populations with their low birth rate.
Demographically primitive populations, which have a high fertility rate and a high death rate, are comparatively young. T h e proportion of people aged 65 or m o r e is lower than 4 per cent in such countries. In the modern world, however, this proportion varies considerably, 360
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ranging from 2.5 per cent to 12 per cent. In the last century or two, therefore, ageing has varied within this range throughout the world. A s only some of the results of i960 censuses are available as yet, w e shall use the results of 1950 censuses to illustrate this wide variation in the rates of ageing. The situation around 1950 First, let us consider a n u m b e r of countries with a young populationi.e. countries in which less than 4 per cent of the population has reached the age of 65:
1-5
2-45
All these are underdeveloped countries. W e should not attach great importance to the differences between one country and the other, because in several of them the 1950 census was thefirstthat had ever been held, and in populations of this kind, where civil registers have been kept for a short time only, old people have only a very rough idea of their age. T h e following list shows the percentages of people aged 65 and over in the principal countries with an old population, at about the same period:
7.6 D e n m a r k 7.8 Federal Republic of Germany 7-9 Switzerland 8.0 N o r w a y 8.1 N e w Zealand Eastern Germany 8.2
9-1
Austria Sweden
10.1
10.3 10.7 10.8
II.O
9-3 9-6 Ireland 9-6 United Kingdom 9.6 Belgium 10.0 France
11.8
All the countries in which there has been a marked decline in the birth rate during the century are developed countries, either European or AngloSaxon. T h e following countries are in an intermediate position between these two large and clearly defined groups:
4.6 Union of South Portugal Africa (Europeans) 6.2 Spain 4-9 6.3 Iceland 5-1 Greece 6.6 5-7 Finland
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This group, which is m o r e heterogeneous than the others, includes various populations in which the decline in the birth rate is of fairly recent date. The situation around ig6o T h e age composition of the population after the last census m a y be determined by approximation. T h e countries in thefirstgroup have hardly changed at all since 1950; they m a y be disregarded in a short study such as this. In the other t w o groups, however, ageing as defined above has become more marked, even in countries in which the birth rate rose after the war. Ageing, in fact, is a progressive process. T h e following list shows the proportion of people aged 65 and over in i960 in the oldest populations: % Federal Republic of Belgium Germany 10.6 France Austria 11.9 Sweden United Kingdom 11.9 %
12.0 12.0 12.0
O'
Ageing, therefore, has progressed; Eastern G e r m a n y and not France n o w has the oldest population, with Sweden occupying second place, allowing for different rates of ageing. Forecasts A s the laws of mortality are comparatively stable, m o r e or less accurate forecasts m a y be m a d e , at least in relation to the population living at the starting point of the calculation. Indeed, future variations largely depend on the initial age composition. For example, if a n exceptionally high proportion of the population is aged between 40 and 60, the total population can obviously be expected to age in the next twenty years. There is, admittedly, a substantial element of chance in forecasts of fertility, but for a considerable time this has little effect on the proportion of old people to the total population. However that m a y be, w e give the results of projections for the proportion of people of over 60 years of age in a n u m b e r of countries, beginning with Europe:
Country Fertility Mortality 1956 1976
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Country Fertility Mortality 1976
1956
Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United States of America
constant declining
16.0 10.8
?
constant constant declining declining
11.2
15-9 18.1 16.2 12.6
19.6
14.0
A s the basic assumptions differ so widely, the results are not entirely comparable. In Eastern G e r m a n y , the proportion of people aged 6 0 in 1976 will probably be 21.3 per centthe highest proportion in the world. Population ageing as defined above can therefore be expected to continue in all developed countries, sometimes fairly rapidly. T h e country with the lowest rate of ageing will be France, because of the rise in the birth rate, and the countries with the highest rate of ageing will be Italy, because of its falling birth rate since the war, and the Federal Republic of G e r m a n y , because of adult immigration between 1955 and i960, which has n o w stopped for the time being. Let us n o w look at the countries which are less developed from the demographic point of view. In all of them, ageing can be expected to continue. In the Soviet U n i o n , the proportion of sexagenarians should rise from 9.4 per cent to between 11.3 and 12.9 per cent, depending on different hypotheses as to fertility. In Japan, where the birth rate has fallen considerably as a result of the Malthusian policy pursued, the rate of ageing can b e expected to rise steeply. T h e proportion of sexagenarians should rise from 8.7 per cent in i960 to 13.4 per cent in 1985 and 25.5 per cent in the year 2015. T h e same trend can be seen in Portugal and Spain, where the percentage can be expected to rise from 10.8 per cent in 1956 to 13.5 per cent in 1976 and from 11.2 per cent in 1956 to 13.2 in 1976 respectively. T h e figures for the rest of the worldthe underdeveloped countries are less reliable, but the indications are that ageing is slowly beginning in these countries, although fertility m a y remain constant. In Brazil, for example, the percentage of sexagenarians can be expected to rise from 4.2 in 1950 to 5.1, if the fertility rate remains constant, or 5.8 if it declines; the same applies to India, where the respective figures would be 4.9, 5.8 or 6.6. If the fertility rate were to fall sharply, as is the case in Singapore, marked ageing of the population would follow. F r o m thefiguresfor these various countries it m a y be concluded that ageing is a phenomenon which will n o w spread throughout the world.
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Still speaking from the demographic point of view, it will be seen that all countries in the world are today faced with the dilemma of seeing their populations grow larger or older. This dilemma is due to the fall in the death rate, which, as w e have seen, results in an increase in the number of old people. Even if the population is stationary to begin with, a fall in the death rate, even for a limited period, will increase the n u m b e r of people in all the generations already born. Thereafter either all the age groups in the population will increase in the same proportion (i.e. the solution of growth), or the growth rate will slow d o w n (i.e. the solution of ageing). W e m a y perhaps describe this situation in more detail. In a stationary population with a life expectation of 30 years the proportion of persons aged 65 and over is 3.9 per cent. In a stationary population with a life expectation of 70, the proportion is 15.1 per cent. So, if the death rate for the younger generations suddenly dropped to that corresponding to a life expectation of 70, the aged section of the population would be quadrupled. In actual fact, the mechanism is rather more complicated than this. T h e populations would be more properly described as stable rather than stationary; and secondly the decline in the death rate is a process that takes place gradually. Lastly, while it takes a considerable time to accomplish the transition from a life expectation of 30 to one of 70, the number of old people in the final state depends on fertility. Whatever model is chosen, transition from an initial stable state to a final stable state more than quadruples the aged population. In France, the number of sexagenarians has, in fact, increased rather more than fourfold already since the demographic composition of the country began to change, a n d the state of stability has not yet been reached. In other countries the increase has been far greateras m u c h as eight or tenfold. If the population had grown at the same rate, thus avoiding the present phenomenon of ageing, the population of the most demographically developed countries (i.e. those of Western Europe) would be nearly two and a half times bigger than it is. Belgium would have a population of 22 millions, France 113 millions, and the United K i n g d o m 127 millions. Continued population growth without any ageing at all would in fact have given still higher figures. Not only might such populations be faced with certain problems of shortages (shortages of water, living space, or land) w h e n a stable state is reached, but such rapid growth might also lead to serious economic difficulties. O n the other, hand, if a country wished to maintain its population at a constant level, despite a decline in the death rate, it would have to reduce its birth rate drastically, which would b e a cause of unduly serious upheaval.
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Between these two extreme courses there is a wide range of intermediary solutions which include both growth and ageing. Awareness of the phenomenon Although this is the most inescapable and clear-cut dilemma imaginable (since the only w a y of escaping from it would be to kill off old people or to increase the death rate of those over 30 years of age), very few people are aware of its existence. T h e most recent opinion surveys in France, for example, show that most people think it desirable for the population to remain stationary, although they k n o w that the n u m b e r of old people is increasing. Demographic ageing, in fact, is one of those unpalatable developments which attract no attention and which the average person, if some chance should bring them to his notice, immediately attempts to put from his mind. T h u s the phenomenon that is the most ineluctable, the most fully substantiated, the most susceptible to forecasting, and perhaps also the most significant of modern times, passes unheeded by the very people in whose lifetimes it is actually taking place.
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Several recent studies are related to the problem of successful ageing [Kuhlen 1959; Jyrkil i960; Havighurst 1962] 1 . O n e of the major topics discussed in this connexion is that of disengagement, i.e. the adjustment of the aged person to his social situation after retirement [Stauder 1955] a n d disengagement from former social roles a n d contacts as well as the reduction of the life-space in old age [ C u m m i n g a n d H e n r y 1961]. O n the other h a n d m a n y observations point to the fact that adjustm e n t problems related to the ageing process start rather early in adult life. M a n y studies o n the individual's awareness of'ageing' of his o w n personality conducted for the last forty years s h o w that the earliest age at which for the first time the awareness of age becomes a problem is in the middle twenties [Giese 1928; Lehr a n d Puschner 1963]. Experimental studies o n psychomotor performance a n d learning, or studies o n adjustment of different age groups to traffic conditions [Maier] s h o w the s a m e tendency: the trend toward a certain 'decline' is observable in early adulthood or at least in middle age. Therefore it seems justified not to restrict the term 'ageing' psychologically to a rather limited stage of life (e.g. beyond the 70's) a n d to include the whole life-span between early adulthood a n d old age in research o n ageing [Anderson 1958; Welford 1958; Birren 1959]. In m a n y areas of research o n 'ageing' the object of including middle-aged subjects m a y be to use these younger age-groups as a basis for comparison. In research o n adjustment problems a n d the ageing process there is still another reason for the extension of research o n 'ageing' into these age groups. V e r y often the adjustment problems of the 'aged' person are a variation of those of the middle-aged. H o w e v e r , m o r e important is the fact that the w a y in which the individual copes with these problems in early or middle adulthood is decisive for the degree to which the major problems of life in old age are m e t . This is s h o w n in studies started b y the writer in 1955 with the a i m of gathering life-histories from middle-aged persons [Lehr a n d T h o m a e 1. References in square brackets refer to the bibliography to be found at the end of this article.
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1958; Lehr 1961; T h o m a e 1962]. They are based on intensive interviews (8-16 hours) conducted in 3 to 5 sessions. So far the material gathered by these studies includes the autobiographies and different questionnaire data of 195 m e n and 141 w o m e n . About 50 per cent of these cases were followed through a 3-5 year period. This small number of cases m a y be taken as typical for intensive psychological research on ageing. This kind of research is very often supplemented by m o r e extensive forms of observation. Case-histories have been analysed with reference to major breaks in the personality development, the consequences of important events, the frequency of conflicts in the different age-groups and the perception of different ages b y people of different age. T h e report o n this study will be supplemented by references to related research activities of m a n y research centres, especially those of the United States of America, where psychological gerontology has m a d e the greatest progress within the past twenty years.
According to our main study [Thomae 1962] the differentiation and structuration of the life course of the individual as seen by the individual himself is determined by the major events of the biography. Marriage, major changes in job and profession, war, time spent in prisoner of war c a m p , reunion of the family, and the time before and after social and economic recovery are events which structure the life into different periods and stages. Within these events are to be found the main sources of adjustment problems in ageing. This means that changes in the sociopsychological situation of the individual call for adjustive reactions o n the part of the ageing person. These changes m a y be due to environmental influences. They can be determined, too, b y changes in the person's perception of his situation. In any case, biological factors per se do not have a major effect on the genesis of adjustment problems in the ageing process [Karsten 1959]. This is shown very clearly in Lehr's study on the awareness of ageing [Lehr 1963]. If biological decline had a positive relationship to the awareness of ageing, one would normally expect the greatest n u m b e r of reports on such awareness to come from the oldest age group of the respondents. In fact, however, Lehr got the greatest n u m b e r of negative reactions from the oldest age group (more than 60 years); in other words, the oldest group included significantly more respondents w h o stated they would never feel 'old' than the younger age groups. A mechanism of 'perceptual defence' apparently operates in m a n y aged persons to prevent the awareness of ageing. A second finding of Lehr shows that worries concerning health and physical impairment formed the smallest group of the experiences which motivated this awareness. In thefirstplace, the respondents mentioned
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worries concerning changes in psychological functioning and emotional identification with the environment. Next to these changes in the personality, the experience of altered social relationships (in occupation, family, neighbourhood) formed the second largest group of grievances leading to a n awareness of ageing. T h e influences of these social aspects of the life-history are stressed also in m a n y other studies o n adjustment to ageing [Weinberg 1956; Jyrkil i960]. W e shall therefore centre our discussion o n findings related to these sociopsychological aspects of ageing.
First there is the occupational career with its ups a n d downs. Usually w e expect this kind of problem to be restricted to younger age groups. H o w e v e r , an evaluation of the conflicts reported in the interviews with our cases shows that, in m e n , occupational worries, conflicts connected with w o r k , with employer or employees have the highest frequency in all age groups at least for the reference age 1 next to the chronological age. For the oldest group of interviewees (age 50-65) conflicts connected with the job rank first for all reference ages. Apparently involvement with one's o w n occupational status is so intensive that it projects these problems to all reference ages. It seems to be evident from these findings that the attainment of a certain occupational status, experience in the job, a n d the higher prestige given to older persons [A. Karsten 1959] do not minimize adjustment problems for the older employee or employer. O n the other hand the adjustm e n t problems included in this finding are not caused b y declining abilities or achievements in thefirstinstance. O f course, there are the data o n decline in intellectual and motor-perceptual functioning as far as these functions are measurable b y tests a n d experiments. Welford [1958] a n d his co-workers have gathered m a n y data o n this subject. Jones [1959] reviewed the data o n ageing a n d intelligence, discussing the m a n y exceptions from the general rule that decline begins after 30 years of age. O n the other hand all studies related to work efficiency state that these functional losses are compensated by greater experience a n d the growing potential of ' k n o w - h o w ' , at least for those occupations where speed of reactions and adjustment to novel situations are not the m a i n requirement [Clark and D u n n e 1956; McFarland 1959]. T h e frequency of conflicts in the occupational area therefore is dependent to a great extent on the unchanging character of the production process. Changes in this process as they b e c o m e necessary in industrial production increase the difficulties for the ageing personality. This is demonstrated, too, by the study on the awareness
1. By reference age w e mean the age for which the interviewee reports certain events (conflicts).
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of ageing [Lehr 1963]. O n e of the more frequent sources of worries arising out of this awareness were experiences in which the ageing worker felt inferior in efficiency to the younger or where he or she was afraid of competition with younger people. Also the advancement of younger colleagues within the same company demands, on the part of the elderly person, certain adjustment processes in which the awareness of ageing can become disturbing and, in fact, crucial. In our interview study [Lehr and T h o m a e 1958; T h o m a e 1962] the general background of adjustment problems of the ageing in the occupational area very often pointed to problems of 'monotony' in the whole life course. W e do not refer here to problems of industrial monotony, however important they are even in this connexion. W h a t w e have in mind is a more complex problem of professional adjustment. Satisfaction with one's o w n job, according to m a n y studies, increases in the years after 50 [cf. Bergler 1963]. O n the other hand the readiness to exchange the present job for another one decreases at the same time significantly [Lipset and Bendix 1952]. T h e attitude toward their o w n jobs in older m e n is apparently influenced by a stronger need for social security. However, w h e n w e asked our interviewees if they would enter a job other than their present one were they again 15 years of age, the highest number of positive answers were received from the oldest m e n . Quite obviously the need for security cannot suppress the need for change and the ambivalent emotional reaction toward the awareness of restriction within a routine and somewhat monotonous job situation. S o m e experimental and questionnaire findings regarding growing 'rigidity' in old age supported the belief that growing old is identical with growing fear of change [Riegel 1958, i960]. With regard to the attitude to one's o w n job, however, this is only one aspect of the whole picture. Actually this attitude becomes more and more dependent on a variety of factors which m a y be defined as need for security and steadiness, more or less suppressed wishes for change and expansion and the growing awareness that certain hopes cannot be fulfilled as far as the occupational aspect of one's o w n life is concerned. T h e personality problems of the ageing individual in the occupational context can be defined as those offindinga compromise between the need for security and the longing for expansion or change, including fear of 'monotony'. For w o m e n the situation is very different. Conflicts connected with the job are never ranked highest for any of the reference-ages. This is true for married and unmarried w o m e n . Especially a m o n g married w o m e n these problems ranked below those connected with family life, even a m o n g those w h o were or are working outside of their o w n homes. O n the other hand longing for change and expansion are the main motivations for entering and staying in a job, especially in the oldest age group [Lehr 1961]. While w e stress these motivational and attitudinal aspects of the adjustment problem with regard to occupational life, w e should not underestimate the influence
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of the functional factors referred to above. These are the increasing difficulties in coping with novel situations and in analysing complex patterns for which the store of experience does not include any provision [Welford 1958]. There are the difficulties in learning and unlearning in a 'psychotechnical w a y ' which start in the early thirties and increase with each decennium. O n the other hand a growing amount of experience is gained which helps in coping with those 'difficulties' and which can enrich any reaction system. T h e authors of Birren's Handbook of Aging and the Individual have reviewed the huge amount of knowledge concerning these 'technical' adjustment problems. W e shall certainly k n o w more about them with each year of experimental gerontological work. Unfortunately w e do not k n o w very m u c h about the manner in which the individual deals with these 'technical' problems in his daily occupation. In addition to these manifold 'individual' problems of personality adjustment to ageing in occupational life there are the effects of the environment, expressed mainly in the attitude of the society towards the elderly. A . Karsten gave a rather favourable picture of these attitudes in her study on Finland. Others report tensions and intolerance [Arnold and Bergler]. Industrial psychologists have discussed the question whether there is a general problem of the relationship between the generations in industry which would require special attention from management. Age and kind of retirement present sociopsychological as well as an individual problem in the ageing process. Alarming reports have been published on complete breakdown after sudden retirement, especially in Germany [Stauder 1955]. However, some of these reports are inadequately documented. T h e studies of Friedmann and Havighurst [1954] and of Tartler [1961] show that there are great social differences with regard to attitudes to retirement. According to Meis [1953] continuation of the former work is desired by 72.6 per cent of 'white collar' employees, and by 67.8 per cent of manual workers (both in age groups 66-72). However, miners w h o o w n a garden or house want to retire even before 60. According to an investigation m a d e by Tartler [1961, p . 92], the age of retirement seems to be veryflexibleas 51.0 per cent of a group of 94 m e n aged more than 65 years were still working. In any case, there remain m a n y adjustment problems caused by the age of retirement. S o m e m a y be solved by law and social organization, but some will always call for personal action and adjustment.
For w o m e n the main source of sociopsychological adjustment problems in the ageing process lies in the context of family life. However, for m e n too, the maintenance of happiness and harmony in the family appears to be a major problem. M a n y sociological studies show that the anticipation of 370
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any total disintegration of the family [A. Salomon et al.] is not justified b y the facts [Schelsky 1955; Wurzbacher 1958; E m n i d ] . There is a tendency toward identification of the individual with his o w n family, which is perceived as a shelter from the unfriendly world of m o d e r n industrial society [Schelsky 1955]. This trend towards integration m a y have been more marked during thefirstten years after the war w h e n the socio-economic problems of the family very often led to a search for such 'shelter' from the hostile world. In any case it cannot b e imputed to poor sampling that 33 per cent of the m e n in our study [Lehr and T h o m a e 1952] reported major crises in the relationships with their wives. T h e n u m b e r of conflicts in marriage reported b y m e n increases with age u p to the fifties. Lehr [1961] states that for w o m e n between 25 and 50 the endeavour to maintain close contact with the husband seems to be the m a i n task. In almost every female life history there are reports of phases in which the contact with the spouse seems to be disturbed a n d which are characterized by serious crises in marriage a n d family life; these m a y be followed b y phases which are experienced as happy a n d harmonious or b y phases of loosened contact. Changes in this familial context are reported most frequently for the third a n d fourth decennia; during thefiftiesa m o r e positive attitude toward the husband lasts for longer periods. W h e n w e k n o w more of these changes it m a y be necessary to m a k e some corrections or additions to these chronological data. So far the general picture of these adjustment problems in family life shows a certain divergence of the developmental trends in the two sexes. Whereas w e still find a high degree of'awareness of crisis' in m e n after 50 years of age, w o m e n of the same age seem to be m o r e adjusted to life. Between 60 a n d 65 the frequency of conflicts of this kind in both the male and female groups drops to the lowest degree. Does this m e a n that conflicts with the spouse wear themselves out? O r does it m e a n that the struggle for bare survival minimizes the pressure of these marital problems? O n l y further study will show the relevance of these data and the true nature of such family conflicts. A major factor responsible for these changes will be discussed in the next section: certainly the growing mastery in m a k i n g compromises with life as it is contributes to the settlement of certain conflicts. In any case, these figures o n frequency of conflicts d o not point to a disintegration of family life in present-day society. T h e y are a n expression of the adjustment problems inherent in living together from early adulthood to old age. Certain social surveys and opinion polls have presented m o r e favourable pictures. T h e intensive interview method which w e applied is better able to reflect the problem situation than a thirty-minute interview m a d e b y a person not trained in psychology. A somewhat surprising picture is revealed b y our data on conflicts of the interviewees with their o w n children. T h e reference ages for which the highest n u m b e r of conflicts is reported are those close to the chronological
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age of the interviewees. T h u s w e find the largest n u m b e r of reports of conflicts with theiv o w n children given by the chronological age group 50-65 for the reference ages 45-60. This finding is indicative of the active involvement of the ageing in the lives of their children. T h e conflicts reported by this group refer to problems in connexion with the growing emotional or social independence of the children. T h e marriage plans of a child m a y increase the intensity of these problems, especially if the proposed spouse belongs to a different religious denomination. Other conflicts reported by our oldest interviewees reflect problems connected with 'preparation' for the role of 'mother-in-law' or 'father-in-law', or that of grandmother or grandfather, etc. This kind of conflict coincides with a n increased n u m b e r of problems connected with the relationships with the parents. Very often these are caused b y increasing health problems of the parents or parent, which would require the reception of the parents into the child's household. This situation is referred to as one of conflict because very often existing intra-familial tensions seem to be increased by the inclusion of the parents in the household orstill more oftenbecause housing problems m a k e it impossible to invite parents to live in the household. Beske [i960] showed that the unsatisfactory housing conditions of the children are one of the main reasons for the entrance of aged persons into institutions, another reason being poor health. T h e problem of taking care of the parents in these situations is more often referred to in the interviews with the w o m e n than with the m e n . Conflicts with their parents aroused by divergent opinions on the education of their children are mentioned m o r e often by w o m e n than by m e n . M a n y explanations can be offered for this difference, one of the most valid being that there is a general problem of the sociology of family. T h e connexion between the parents of the wife and the family of our interviewees seemed to be m o r e intensive than that between the parents of the husband with the family. Even if w e take into account the change in the traditional patrilineal patterns of our culture this finding cannot yet be explained sufficiently. In any case the position of the individual in the family certainly shelters him from m a n y of the adversities of life and enables h i m to support m a n y hardships. However, it also exposes h i m to problems of adjustment which have to be coped with if real adjustment to life is aimed at. Therefore our data on worries about family happiness should not be viewed as indications of social disintegration in present-day society. T h e y merely point to the complexity of adjustment problems during the period between adulthood and old age.
A third major source of adjustment problems in connexion with the ageing process m a y be defined as that of the integration of reality into the
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behavioural and inner personal system. This problem arises in various aspects of occupational and familial life, a n d also affects m o r e the general, social life of the individual. T h e structuration of the personality and its behaviour according to a 'reality principle' is not quite identical with the function of the 'ego' as defined by Freud. In particular there are no annoying thoughts or wishes which have to be suppressed in order to achieve or maintain the balance of the personality. Structuring the behavioural system according to a 'reality-principle' in the present connexion means the integration of knowledge about possible failure, frustration and the imperfection of life into the expectations and aspirations of the individual. T h e integration of reality into the individual behaviour system begins in childhood. During the past twenty-five years w e have learned a great deal about the continuous process by which the individual learns to adjust his actions, wishes and expectations to the conditions set by the social environm e n t in which he lives [Child 1954; T h o m a e 1959]. O n e of the primary aims of this learning process is to minimize failure and frustration by adjusting external conditions and internal expectations. This learning process has m a n y aspects and m a n y stages. Even in young adulthood the acceptance of certain social conditions as they are is very often regarded by the individual himself as a symptom of weakness and insecurity. Y o u n g people tend to m a k e demands on life in a rather unlimited w a y and therefore their level of aspiration is set very high. With increasing age m a n developes more and m o r e the art of making compromises with the m a n y imperfect aspects of life. According to D y k m a n , H e l m a n and Kerr [1952] businessmen worry because they have to give u p important hopes and ambitions as early as the age of 30 (median age), psychologists as early as 40 (median age). Worries about marital difficulties are reported by businessmen for age 39, by psychologists for 41 (median age). A s long as these worries exist the compromise is not perfect. It would require a perception of the positive aspect of the situation, to enjoy it as it presents itself. Peck [1956] calls this kind of learning of the ageing personality the obtaining of 'wisdom'. O n e aspect of this process timed for 'middle age' is the developmental task of 'valuing wisdom versus valuing physical powers'. In a study o n the personality structure of 'some thousands of business people' he got the impression that, 'most reach a critical transition point somewhere between the late thirties and the late forties'. Unrealistic reactions to the awareness of declining physical vitality can lead to general maladjustment. Another aspect of this process of attaining 'wisdom', according to Peck, is expressed in the alternative of 'cathecticflexibilityversus cathectic impoverishment'. This alternative becomes critical after the loss of parents, friends or relatives by death or after the completed socio-economic independence has been reached by the children. 'Cathectic impoverishment' defines an unrealistic approach to this situation, 'cathecticflexibility'means an integration of the
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whole emotionality by the realization of change and transition in h u m a n relations. T h e structuration of generality by 'wisdom', i.e., by the dominance of a 'reality principle' shows n e w aspects in old age, where n e w physical or social conditions require n e w adjustments. Peck stresses that 'one critical requisite for successful adaptation to old age m a y be the establishment of a varied set of valued activities and valued self-attributes, so that any one of several alternatives can be pursued with a sense of satisfaction' and worthwhileness. In our interview study [ T h o m a e 1962] w e found that this process of attaining wisdom', of developing techniques for making compromises reaches afirstpeak between 35 and 45. W e m a y take the n u m b e r of conflicts reported by our interviewees as an index of some kind of maladjustment to the present situation. A n y conflict shows that the individual expects other solutions or gratifications than those offered by reality. All age groups of the interviewee reported more conflicts for the reference ages 15-25 than for the years 30-45. T h e older interviewees also reported fewer conflicts for the reference ages 30-45 than for the later reference ages. This shows that in adolescence and young adulthood reactions are expressed unconditionally; expansion is sought without paying m u c h regard to the present situation. If w e find the lowest n u m b e r of conflicts between the ages of 30 and 45, this m a y be due to certain newly acquired adjustment patterns. H o w e v e r , it also m a y be related to the fact that fewer 'frustrations' arise out of the situation of the more independent m a n and w o m a n of 30-45. This, of course, has little bearing on the increase in conflicts after 45 which reaches a peak in the fifties. Here w e should mention especially conflicts arising out of changes or conflicts of roles (from 'parents' to 'grand-parents', between the child-role and the parent-role, etc.), and out of n e w requirements in the job, and religious problems and worries. This shows that the process of the structuration of the personality by the 'reality principle' has m a n y stages. It takes on n e w intensity with any new changes, deprivations or enlargements of vital space. According to our data there are symptoms of growing h a r m o n y in the sixties. O n the other hand Kutner and Jyrkil have pointed to a growing dissatisfaction with life after 75. This would indicate that the process of integrating the 'reality principle' into the behavioural system continues throughout life. C h . Bhler [1959] and M . Moers [1953] have tried to delineate the different patterns of this process at different stages of life. M o r e recently our research team studied the relationship between age and that form of failure in adjustment which expresses itself in psychosomatic symptoms. Erfmann in a study o 762 case-histories found that 17.7 per cent showed their first symptoms between age 1-19; 37 per cent between 20 and 29; 29.3 per cent between 31 a n d 39. After age 50, only 5.2 per cent of the cases showed symptoms of psychoneurosis for thefirsttime. If manifestation of psychoneurosis can be regarded as a s y m p t o m of chronic conflict, it is interesting to
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note the great n u m b e r of conflicts reported in our interviews with adolescents a n d y o u n g adults a n d also, in the case histories of psychosomatic patients. In the s a m e w a y the decrease of conflicts between 30 a n d 45 is s h o w n both in our interviews with 'normal' persons a n d in the psychoneurotic cases of E r f m a n n . H o w e v e r , after 5 0 w e found a n e w peak in the frequency of conflicts whereas for this age-group there is almost n o manifestation of psychosomatic s y m p t o m s . This can be explained only b y the hypothesis that the problem of the integration of the 'reality principle' into the personality structure is approached in different w a y s in the earlier a n d in the later years of life. Having learned to m a k e compromises with reality, the elderly person is not obliged to choose the neurotic extreme as a substitute for solving his problem. H e m a y b e aware of the conflict a n d suffer from the divergence between his o w n expectations and reality, but h e has developed other m e a n s of reacting to this situation than neurosis. O n e of the m o r e extreme forms is depression.
CONCLUSION
T h e relationship between ageing and adjustment is a problem of the whole life-span. T h e study of this relationship provides a sound basis for following the main developmental trends of the ageing process. However, in view of the data provided in this survey and in view of the data which ongoing research will offer w e should be careful in differentiating definite stages of adjustment in ageing. There are too m a n y tendencies and factors to be considered. Therefore it would be wise to conceive the ageing process in terms of a sequence of developmental 'tasks' [Anderson 1958; Havighurst] more or less vaguely delineated by society and the natural course of life. These 'tasks' always refer to adjustment. In defining them w e should keep in mind that complete adjustment is more an ideal than a reality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY A N D E R S O N . J. E . 1958. A developmental model for aging. Vita humana (Intern. J. Human Developm.), vol. 1. A R N O L D , W . ; B E R G L E R , R . 1955. Die psychologischen Hintergrnde der Arbeitslosigkeit lterer Angestellter. Lneburg. B E R G L E R , R . Das Problem der seelischen Entwicklung im Erwachsenenalter. Basel (in press). B E S K E , F. i960. Das Gemeinschaftsleben in Altersheimen. Stuttgart. B I R K E N , J. E . (ed.). 1959. Handbook of Aging and the Individual. Chicago. B H L E R , C h . 1959. Der menschliche Lebenslauf als psychol. Problem. 2nd ed. Gttingen. C H I L D , I. L . 1954. Socialisation. In: G . Lindzey (ed.). Handbook of Social Psychology. N e w York, London and Toronto. C L A R K , F. J.; D U N N E , A . C . 1956. Aging in industry. N e w York. C U M M I N G , E . ; H E N R Y , W . E . 1961. Growing old. A view in depth of the social and psychological processes of aging. N e w York.
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three diverse adult cultural groups. J. Soc. Psychol., vol. 35. E R F M A N N , I. 1963. A g e and manifestation of psychosomatic disorders. Vita humana, vol. 5. F R I E D M A N N , E . A . ; H A V I G H U R S T , R . J . 1954. The meaning of work and retirement. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. G I E S E , F. 1928. Erlebnisformen des Alterns, Halle. H A V I G H U R S T , R . J . 1962. T h e measurement of successful aging. In: Social andpsychol. aspects of aging (eds. Tibbitts and W . Donahue). N e w York and London. J O N E S , H . E . 1959. Intelligence and problem-solving. In: J. E . Birren. Handbook of aging and the individual. Chicago. J O N E S , L . W . 1955. Personality and age. Nature, Lond., vol. 136. J Y R K I L A , F . i960. Society and adjustment to old age. A sociological study on the attitude of society and the adjustment of the aged. Transactions of the Westermark Society, vol. 5, CopenhagenTurku. K A R S T E N , A . 1959. Adjustment to old age in industry. Vita humana, vol. 2 , 1959. K U H L E N , R . G . 1959. Aging and life-adjustment. In: J. E . Birren, Handbook of aging and the individual. Chicago. L E H R , U . ; T H O M A E , H . 1958. Eine Lngsschnittuntersuchung bei 30-50 j . Angestellten'. Vita humana, vol. 1. . 1961. Vernderungen in der Daseinsthematik der Frau im Erwachsenenalter. Vita humana, vol. 4. ; P U S C H N E R , I. 1963. Untersuchungen ber subjektive Alternssymptome. Vita humana, vol. 6. L I P S E T , S . M . ; B E N D I X , R . 1951-52. Social mobility and occupational career patterns. Amer. J. Sociol. M A I E R , O . 1961. Lebensalter und Strassenverkehrsanpassung. Arch. ges. Psycho. Ergdb., vol. 5, Frankfurt. M C F A R L A N D , R . ; O ' D O H E R T Y , B . D . 1959. W o r k and occupational skills. In: J. E . Birren, op. cit. M E I S , W . 1953. Hamburgs Beschftigungslage und der ltere Angestellte. H a m b u r g M O E R S , M . 1953. Die Entwicklungsphasen des menschlichen Lebens. Ratingen. P E C K , R . 1956. Psychological developments in the second half of life. In: J. E . Anderson, Psychol. Aspects of Aging. Washington, D . C . , A P A . R I E G E L , K . F . 1958. Ergebnisse und Probleme der psychologischen Alternsforschung. I. and II. Vita humana, vol. 1. R I E G E L , K . F.; R I E G E L , R . M . i960. A study on changes of attitudes and interests during later years of life. Vita humana, vol. 3. S C H E L S K Y , H . 1955. Wandlungen der deutschen Familie in der Gegenwart. 3. A . Stuttgart, Enke. S T A U D E R , K . H . 1955. ber den Pensionierungsbankrott. Psyche, vol. 9, p . 481-97. T A R T L E R , R . 1961. Das Alter in der modernen Gesellschaft. Stuttgart, Enke. T H O M A E , H . 1959. Entwicklung und Prgung. I n . : H . T h o m a e (Hg.) Entwicklungspsychologie. Hdbch. d. Psychol. Band 3, 2. A . Gttingen. T H O M A E , H . 1962. Thematic analysis of aging. In: Tibbitts and W . Donahue, Social and psychological aspects of aging. N e w York. W E I N B E R G , J. 1956. Personal and social adjustment. In: Anderson, J. E. Psychol. Aspects of Aging, Washington. D . C . , A P A . W E L F O R D , A . T . 1958. Ageing and human skill. London. W U R Z B A C H E R , G . 1958. Leitbilder gegenwrtigen deutschen Familienlebens. 3. A . Stuttg Enke.
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T h e usefulness of a theory depends upon its ability to explain the present and predict the future. In this essay, I shall amplify and elaborate the 'disengagement' theory of ageing that W . E , Henry and I developed with our colleagues between 1957 and i960.1 I hope in this w a y to m a k e that theory better able to describe and predict both the range and the limits of the ageing process. In its original form, the theory was too simple; it had only enough detail to account for the main outlines of the process of growing old. B y adding n e w elements and elaborating the basic propositions in m o r e detail, I hope to be able to suggest a little of the complexity and diversity that w e see a m o n g m e n and w o m e n in old age.
T h e disengagement theory was developed during a five-year study of a sample of ageing people in an American city. T h e sample consisted of 275 individuals between the ages of 50 and 90 years; they were in good health and had the m i n i m u m of money needed for independence.2 Briefly, the theory proposes that under these conditions normal ageing is a mutual withdrawal or 'disengagement' between the ageing person and others in the social system to which he belongsa withdrawal initiated by the individual himself, or by others in the system. W h e n disengagement is complete, the equilibrium that existed in middle life between the individual and society has given w a y to a n e w equilibrium characterized by greater distance, and a changed basis for solidarity. Engagement is essentially the interpntration of the person and the society to which he belongs. T h e fully-engaged person acts in a large n u m ber and a wide variety of roles in a system of divided labour, and feels an 1. The theory wasfirstsuggested in 'Disengagement, a tentative theory of aging', by Elaine Cumming, Lois R . Dean, and David S. Newell, Sociometry, vol. 23, no. 1, March i960, and developed in greater detail in Growing Old, by Elaine C u m m i n g and William E . Henry, N e w York, Basic Books, 1961. 2. This means that they were able to live on their incomes from whatever source without seeking public assistance.
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obligation to meet the expectations of his role partners. There are variations, however, in the type of engagement. It is possible to be broadly engaged in a n u m b e r of social systems that exert little influence over the remainder of society, and it is possible to be deeply engaged in the sense of having roles whose function is to m a k e policies that affect others in large numbers. It is possible to be symbolically engaged by epitomizing some valued attributeby being a famous scientist, poet or patriot. A few m e n have roles that combine all three types of engagement and carry with them the extreme constraints that must accompany such a n u m b e r and variety of obligations; presidents and prime ministers are a m o n g them. Roughly, the depth and breadth of a m a n ' s engagement can be measured by the degree of potential disruption that would follow his sudden death.1 T h e death of someone w h o has an important symbolic engagement with his society, however, can result in both loss and gain because the survivors can rally around the symbols he embodied and thus reaffirm their value. For m a n y Americans, D a g Hammarskjold's death brought into sharp focus the need for world order. In its original form, the disengagement theory concerned itself with the modal case which, in America, is first, departure of children from families, and then, retirement for m e n or widowhood for w o m e n . It did not take account of such non-modal cases as widowhood before the marriage of the last child or of work protracted past the modal age of retirement. Most importantly, it did not, and still does not, concern itself with the effects of the great scourges of old age, poverty and illness.2 This essay will modify and elaborate the theory somewhat and suggest some characteristics of ageing people that might m a k e an important difference to their patterns of disengagement. Like the original statement, this modification has the status of a system of hypotheses. S o m e of the elements are close to being operational as they stand; others are still too general for testing. Before proceeding further, an asymmetry in the earlier discussions of the theory must be dealt with. Disengagement has been conceived as a mutual withdrawal between individual and society, and therefore the process should vary according to the characteristics of both. In earlier statements, consideration w a s given to the different ways in which the environment retreatsretirement, loss of kin or spouse, departure of children, and so onbut the only individual difference to be considered in any detail was that between the sexes. Eventually, if the process is to be described adequately, w e must have typologies of withdrawal and retreat. I suggest that deeply-rooted differences in character are a good starting point because it
i. Obviously this is an over-simplification. There are many structural safeguards in any society to keep this kind of disruption to a minimum; included among them is the rational-legal system of authority. 2. The population of study was a representative sample of the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area with the lowest and the highest socio-economic groups and all who could notfilltheir major roles on account of illness removed.
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is reasonable to suppose that they colour all of life, including the disengagem e n t process.
TEMPERAMENT AND DISENGAGEMENT In its original form the disengagement theory did n o more than suggest an ultimate biological basis for a reduction of interest or involvement in the environment. Variations in the process were attributed to social pressures, especially as they are differently experienced b y m e n and w o m e n . A vital difference in style, however, can b e expected between people of dissimilar temperaments, n o matter what their sex. Combining biological and social variables within the framework of the disengagement theory, it might be possible to suggest a wider variety of styles of interaction in old age than would otherwise be possible. A proposed temperamental variable, basically biological, is the style of adaptation to the environment. It seems well established that h u m a n s must maintain a m i n i m u m of exchange with the environment, or a clear anticipation of renewing exchange with it, in order to keep a firm knowledge both of it and of themselves.1 There appear to be different m o d e s of maintaining this relationship, which can perhaps be called the 'impinging' m o d e and the 'selecting' m o d e . 2 T h e impinger appears to try out his concept of himself in interaction with others in the environment and to use their appropriate responses to confirm the correctness of his inferences about himself, the environment, and his relationship to it. If the feedback from others suggests that he is incorrect, he will try to bring others' responses into line with his o w n sense of the appropriate relationship. Only if he fails repeatedly will he modify his concept of himself. In contrast, the selector tends to wait for others to affirm his assumptions about himself. F r o m the ongoingflowof stimulation h e selects these cues that confirm his relationship to the world. If they fail to c o m e , he waits, and only reluctantly brings his o w n concepts into line with the feedback he receives. T h e selector m a y be able to use symbolic residues of old interactions to maintain his sense of self m o r e efficiently than the impinger, and thus be able to wait longer for suitable cues. W e assume that temperament is a multi-determined, biologicallybased characteristic, and therefore that the temperamental types are normally distribute in the population with few people at the extremes. W e also assume that the modal person can both impinge and select as the occasion d e m a n d s , although perhaps favouring one style rather than the other. A normal person will shift to the alternate pattern w h e n it becomes necessary i. Philip Solomon, et al., Sensory Deprivation. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1961. 2. For a discussion of the implications of this typology of temperament for psychopathology, see, John Cumming and Elaine C u m m i n g , Ego and Milieu, N e w York, Atherton Press, 1962.
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either for appropriate role behaviour or for the prevention of 'diffusion feelings'.1 If there are n o complicating ego problems, a pronounced selector will probably be k n o w n as 'reserved', or 'self-sufficient' or 'stubborn', a n d a pronounced impinger as 'temperamental', 'lively,' or 'brash'. W e w o u l d expect the impinger, as he grows older, to experience m o r e anxiety about loss of interaction, because h e needs it to maintain orientation.2 T h e selector, being able to m a k e m o r e use of symbols, m a y have less difficulty with the early stages of disengagement. 3 T h e disengaging impinger can be expected to b e m o r e active a n d apparently m o r e youthful than his peers. His judgement m a y not b e as good as it w a s , but he will provoke the c o m m e n t that he is a n unusual person for his age. Ultimately, as h e becomes less able to control the situations he provokes, h e m a y suffer anxiety a n d panic through failure both to arouse a n d to interpret appropriate reactions. His problem in old age will be to avoid confusion. T h e selector, in contrast to the impinger, interacts in a m o r e measured w a y . W h e n h e is y o u n g he m a y b e thought too withdrawn, but as h e grows older his style becomes m o r e age-appropriate. In old age, because of hisreluctance to generate interaction, h e m a y , like a neglected infant, develop a kind of m a r a s m u s . His foe will b e apathy rather than confusion.
i. I use this phrase in the way that Erikson does in Childhood and Society, N e w York, W . W . Norton, 1950. Roughly, it refers to the anxiety that attends the doubt that others will confirm in the future either the relationship presently established or the identity currently implied by the interaction. 2. It is fairly obvious that these proposed temperaments are related to the psychological dimension, introversion-extroversion. 3. This raises a problem of the difference between the appearance of engagement and the experience of it. This problem is enhanced by a tendency to contrast disengagement with activity (see, Robert Havighurst, 'Successful aging', Gerontologist, vol. 1, p . 8-13, 1961). In fact, activity and engagement are not in the same dimension. A disengaged person often maintains a high level of activity in a small number and narrow variety of roles, although it is doubtful if it is possible to be at once firmly engaged and inactive. In any event, the opposite of disengagement is engagement, a concept different from, though related to, the concept of activity. The result of confusing these two variables is that active people are judged to be engaged. They m a y , however, be relatively disengaged impingers. They m a y also, depending upon the type of activity, be exceptionally healthy or restless. There is no real way to judge because the issue has not been put to the test. Unfortunately, m a n y of the populations used for gerontological studies are volunteers and thus can be expected to include a disproportionately large number of impingers. For example M a r c Zborowski (in: 'Aging and recreation', Journal of Gerontology, vol. 17, no. 3, July 1962) reports that a group of volunteers reported little change over time of their recreational activities and preferences. T h e author concludes from this that the subjects are not disengaging, using the concept in Havighurst's sense as the opposite of active. His finding is only unexpected inasmuch as the disengagement theory would predict a rise in recreational activities after retirement a m o n g a population that might include numerous disengaging impingers. In contrast to this report is a careful study of a general population of older people in N e w Zealand (see, 'Older People of Dunedin City: A Survey', J. R . McCreary, and H . C . A . Somerset, Wellington: Dept. of Health, 1955) a m o n g w h o m only 10 per cent belonged to, or wanted to belong to, recreational groups, and only 9 per cent of those not working would seek work if the restrictions on their pensions would allow them.
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These are not, of course, ordinary ageing processes; the extreme impinger and the extreme selector are almost certain to get into trouble at some crisis point because they cannot m o v e over to the opposite m o d e of interacting w h e n it is adaptive to d o so. In general, in an achievement-oriented society, the impinger m a y be m o r e innately suited to middle age, the selector perhaps to childhood and old age. T o s u m u p , some biologically-based differences a m o n g people m a y be expected to impose a pattern u p o n their manner of growing old. I shall n o w return to the theory, with this variable in m i n d , and at the same time suggest other concepts that it might profitably include.
Disengagement probably begins sometime during middle life w h e n certain changes of perception occur, of which the most important is probably an urgent n e w perception of the inevitability of death. It is certain that children d o not perceive the meaning of death and it is said that ' n o young m a n believes that he will ever die.' It is quite possible that a vivid apprehension of mortalityperhaps w h e n the end of life seems closer than its start is the beginning of the process of growing old. Paradoxically, a sense of the shortness of time m a y c o m e at the height of engagement; that is, competition for time m a y draw attention to both its scarcity and its value. There m a y be a critical point beyond which further involvement with others automatically brings a sense of 'there is n o time for all that I must d o ' which, in turn, leads to evaluations of what has been done compared to what w a s hoped for, and then to allocations and priorities for the future. If this process is c o m m o n to m a n y people, those w h o have never been very firmly engaged should feel less sense of urgency than those w h o are tightly enmeshed with societyall other things, including temperament, being equal. Accompanying the need to select a n d allocate is a shift a w a y from achievement. Achievement, as Parsons says,1 d e m a n d s a future; w h e n confidence in the existence of a future is lost, achievement cannot be pursued without regard to the question, 'Shall it be achievement of this rather than ofthat? Such a question is the beginning of an exploration of the meaning and value of the alternatives.2 In American life, where achievement is perhaps the highest value, its abandonment has always been tinged with failure. W e would, therefore, expect the relinquishment of achievement to be a crisis, and, indeed, general knowledge and s o m e research tell us that in middle life competent m e n with a record of achievement feel sudden painful doubts
1. Talcott Parsons, 'Toward a healthy Maturity', Journal of Health and Human Behavior, vol. I, no. 3, i960. 2. O f course, at all times in the lf span, priorities must be set up because it is ie impossible to do more than one thing in one space of time. But as long as there is the possibility of postponement until a later date, the problem of allocation has little poignancy.
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about the value of w h a t they h a v e d o n e . 1 O n c e a n y part of achievement is given u p , s o m e binding obligations are g o n e , a n d even if they are replaced with less d e m a n d i n g ties, a m e a s u r e of disengagement has occurred. D i s e n g a g e m e n t m a y begin in a different w a y , s o m e w h a t as follows: the middle-aged person w h o has not u n d e r g o n e a n inner period o f questioning reaches a point w h e r e losses, both personal a n d public, begin to outrun his ability to replace t h e m . A friend dies, a business closes, his children m o v e far a w a y . F o r the healthy, ageing impinger these losses m a y b e replaced; for the selector they m a y not, a n d a n awareness of their p e r m a n e n c e m a y b e a turning point. W i t h e a c h loss, the ageing person m u s t surrender certain potential feelings a n d actions a n d replace t h e m with their symbolic residues in m e m o r y . 2 In a sense, this substitution of s y m b o l for social action changes the quality of the self. E v e n if the role partners themselves are replaced, they cannot often substitute for the lost relationship because sentiments built u p over the years c a n n o t b e copied. T h e m o s t crucial step in the disengagement process m a y lie in finding a n e w set of rewards. T h e esteem that achievement brings c a n b e replaced b y the affection generated in socio-emotional activity. T h e approval that c o m e s from m e e t i n g contracted obligations c a n b e replaced b y the spontaneous responses o f others to expressive acts. T h e inner rewards of w e a v i n g the past into a satisfactory m o r a l fabric c a n partly replace the public rewards of achievement. Nevertheless, in A m e r i c a today there is a net loss because achievement is m o r e highly valued than m e a n i n g or expression a n d because its symbols are m o r e easily calibrated. T o b e rich is to b e recognized a success; w i s d o m is often its o w n reward. Finally, a n d perhaps m o s t importantly, freedom from obligation replaces the constraint of being n e e d e d in a n interlocking system o f divided tasks. T h e fully e n g a g e d m a n is, in essence, b o u n d ; the disengaged m a n is freeif h e has resources a n d health e n o u g h to allow h i m to exercise that freedom. T h e ability to enjoy old age m a y be the ability a n d the opportunity to use freedom. 3 N o matter h o w important the effects of the perception o f time a n d the shift in rewards, the essential characteristic of disengagement is that once started it tends to b e self-perpetuating. If the search for m e a n i n g b e c o m e s urgent, a n d the impulse t o w a r d seeking out others b e c o m e s less rewarding, there will b e a tendency not to replace ties b r o k e n b y loss. O n c e withdrawal has b e g u n , it m a y b e c o m e m o r e difficult to m a k e n e w contacts. N o t k n o w i n g quite h o w to b e h a v e u n d e r strange circumstances i. William E . Henry, 'Conflict, age, and the executive', Business Topics, Michigan State University, no date. 2. N o concept of'economy of libido' is implied here. T h e inference is quite simply that a person with a store of memories is less likely to give full attention to the world around h i m than the person w h o has fewer symbolic residues to capture his attention. O f course, there are obvious limits on preoccupation with the past including some m i n i m u m level of interaction that seems almost mandatory for life itself. 3. See Emile Durkheim, Suicide, Glencoe, 111., Free Press, 1951, p . 157-9. 382
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inhibits exploration, and this difficulty, in turn, can reinforce the disengaging processmany elderly people refuse to fly in aircraft, not because they are afraid but because they do not k n o w airport etiquette ! A sense of strangeness cannot, of course, in itself lead to withdrawal; any middle-aged adult feels discomfort if he finds himself in an u n k n o w n situation without a role. Prisoners of war must be helped to re-engage after long periods of isolation from their culture. For the ageing, such diffusion feelings enhance a process that is already under w a y a process m a d e inevitable by m a n ' s mortality T h u s , empirically, w e see ageing people interacting less and in fewer roles. Modally, ties to kindred become more salient, while more distant, impersonal, and m o r e recent ties become less important andfinallydisappear. This process of reduction and simplification leaves the individual freer from the control that accompanies involvement in a larger n u m b e r and greater variety of roles. Concretely, this means that the broadly engaged person receives fewer of the positive and negative sanctions that accompany and guide all interactions and control the style of everyday behaviour, and, therefore, idiosyncratic personal behaviour becomes possible. A t the same time, ideas, removed from the scenes in which they can be tested out, become more stereotyped and general.1 It seems possible that those w h o have been deeply engaged in roles that influence considerable areas of society or those w h o have rare and valuable skills will remain engaged longer than those less deeply involved with the affairs of their generation. This is because the values that inform major decisions are slower to change than everyday norms, and those w h o have been consciously enmeshed with them m a y , in old age, symbolize their continuity for those w h o have not. Those w h o have been successful mathematicians, politicians, and poets can count on society remaining closer to them than those w h o have not influenced or represented their fellow men. As the number of groups to which an ageing person belongs is reduced, his membership in those remaining becomes more important because he must maintain a minimum of stimulation. The memberships of old age kinship, friendship, and perhaps churchare all marked by a high level of agreement among members and many explicit common values. In such groups, it is very d f i u t to deviate far from the common viewpoint. Thus, i fc l the more the elderly person disengages from a variety of roles, the less likely is he to take on n e w ideas. T h e conservatism of old age is partly a security measure, related to the need to maintain harmony a m o n g the remaining companions. A s withdrawal of normative control is an essential aspect of the disengagement theory, it must be asked w h y old people should enter a spiral of i. W h e n the Kansas City respondents were asked the question, 'What do you think of the younger generation?' the middle-aged people gave concrete examples of youthful behaviour that they found compelling or unattractive while the older people answered in large generalizations, usually negative.
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decreasing conformity w h e n middle-aged people, except in extreme cases, are able to endure prolonged interpersonal disruptions and quickly reconstitute contact with the norms. M o v i n g from one city to another is an interpersonal crisis, but it does not often set in motion a process that leads to a n e w orientation to life. T h e difference seems to be that for the ageing a combination of reduced biological energy, the reduction of freedom, preoccupation with the accumulated symbols of the past, and licence for a n e w kind of self-centredness cannot be resisted. Furthermore, all this is expected of the older person, and so the circle is further reinforced. In contrast, if the middle-aged person feels that he is in a situation of reduced social control, he has both the energy and the opportunity to seek n e w constraints, and if he retreats too far from conformity he is sanctioned. In some ways, an ageing person is like an adolescent; he is allowed more freedom and expressiveness than a middle-aged adult. Later, w h e n he is very old, he is permitted the dependency and individuation of the small child. In this view, socialization is the encouragement of children to abandon their parochialism and individuation and to accept conformity to the demands of the major institutions of society, while disengagement is a permission to return again to individuation. In all, for the old person, the circular process of disengagement results in the social tasks getting harder and the alternatives more rewarding, while for the young person, the social tasks remain rewarding and the alternatives are felt as alienation. W e r e it not for the value placed on achievement, the chains that the adult so willingly allows to bind him might be put off at least as readily as they are taken on.
SOCIETY'S W I T H D R A W A L
T h e disengagement theory postulates that society withdraws from the ageing person to the same extent as that person withdraws from society. This is, of course, just another w a y of saying that the process is normatively governed and in a sense agreed upon by all concerned. Everyone knows h o w m u c h freedom from constraint is allowable and where the line between the oddness of old age and the symptoms of deviance lies. There seem to be deeplyrooted reasons, in both the culture and the social structure, for this withdrawal process. In thefirstplace the organization of modern society requires that competition for powerful roles be based on achievement. Such competition favours the young because their knowledge is newer. Furthermore, the pressure of the young on to the highest roles cannot be met in a bureaucracy by an indefinite expansion of the powerful roles. Therefore, the older members must be discarded to m a k e w a y for the younger. In America, a disproportionately large number of young adults will soon be competing for jobs that are becoming relatively fewer as industry moves toward complete
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automation. 1 If Americans are to remain engaged in any serious w a y past the seventh decade, as m a n y observers insist they must, roles must be found for t h e m that y o u n g people cannotfill.8O n l y a n elaboration of available roles can accomplish this because it is impossible for a society organized around standards of achievement a n d efficiency to assign its crucial roles to a group whose death rate is excessively high. W h e n a middle-aged, fully-engaged person dies, he leaves m a n y broken ties, a n d disrupted situations. Disengagement ] thus frees the old to die without disrupting vital affairs. Finally, at the end of life w h e n o n e has outlived one's peers, social withdrawal consists in failure to approach. In this sense, the young withd r a w from the old because the past has little reality for t h e m . T h e y cannot conceive of a n old person in any but a peripheral role. T h u s , they approach h i m with condescension, or d o not approach at all because of embarrassm e n t . This gulf between generations is a by-product of a future-oriented society; w h e n it changes, America will have changed. In the meantime, it seems clear that the older person m a y find it m o r e rewarding to contemplate a m o m e n t of past glory than to try to m a k e n e w relationships, especially with the young. In the intimate circle, n o such effort is needed; the only real social problem for the very old, given health and enough m o n e y , m a y be lack of such a circle.3
Whether disengagement is initiated b y society or b y the ageing person, in the end he plays fewer roles a n d his relationships have changed their quality. Socialization ensures that everyone learns to play the t w o basic kinds of roles that are k n o w n as instrumental a n d socio-emotional. In this essay, the instrumental roles in any given social system are those primarily concerned with active adaptation to the world outside the system during the pursuit of system goals. Socio-emotional roles are concerned with the inner i. The whole problem of retraining for automation is complex. O n the surface, retraining an older person seems wasteful, but if the rate of technical change remains the same, retraining m a y be necessary so frequently that older workers m a y economically be included in the programme. Retraining m a y not be necessary if Parsons is right in suggesting that as American society becomes more sophisticated there will be more variety of roles for old people just as there are more available to w o m e n past the childbearing age. If this is true, there should be demonstrable differences in the attitude toward older people between groups with different levels of sophistication and between countries with different kinds of cultural elaborations. 2. For a full discussion of this possibility, see Parsons, op. cit. 3. It is interesting that American ideology holds that it is not good for an old person to live in his adult child's household. Nevertheless a very large number do so, and apparently successfully. In these cases there seems to be a tendency to define the situation as in some way extraordinary so as to keep honouring the shibboleth in the breach. See, Seymour Bellin, 'Family and kinship in later years', doctoral dissertation, Columbia University.
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integration of the system and the maintenance of the value patterns that inform its goals.1 M e n , for reasons at once too obvious and too complex to consider here, must perform instrumental roles o n behalf of their families, and this, for most m e n , means working at an occupation. Although m e n play socioemotional roles, in business and elsewhere, they tend to assign the integrative tasks to w o m e n w h e n they are present. In patriarchal societies, a m a n conceivably can live his whole adult life without playing a socio-emotional role, if, in both his family and in his work, others are willing to integrate social systems around him. A married w o m a n , on the other hand, in addition to the socio-emotional role she plays in her family as a whole, must be instrumental in relationship to small children. Very few w o m e n , and those only perhaps a m o n g the wealthiest, can totally avoid instrumentality. T h u s , w o m e n are in the habit of bringing either kind of role into salience with m o r e ease than m e n . Whether there is any inherent quality that makes it easier to play one role than another is obscure, although the impinging temperament m a y predispose toward socio-emotionality. Empirically, w e see a spectrum that includes goal-directed m e n , all of whose roles are instrumental (officers in the regular A r m y whose wives tremble w h e n they shout); m e n w h o play socio-emotional roles in some circumstances (comforting the baby w h e n he falls), m e n w h o seek out socio-emotional roles (in America, perhaps the personnel m a n ) ; w o m e n w h o play instrumental roles whenever the situation allows it (club presidents), w o m e n w h o shift from instrumental work roles to socio-emotional family roles, and w o m e n w h o play socio-emotional roles almost all the time (the helpful maiden aunt living in a relative's household). Most married couples with children, n o matter what secondary roles they m a y hold, have a basic division of labour in which the husband plays a core instrumental role vis--vis his family by working, and the wife a core socio-emotional one b y maintaining their h o m e and caring for their children. B y the time the children have left h o m e and the husband has retired, the original division of labour has lost m u c h of its basis. A m a n has no clear-cut role upon retirement. H e m a y still play a n instrumental role relative to his wife, but it loses its public label; there is n o special place to go to perform it, and there is no paycheck that is the obvious consequence of his daily round. H e must bring his capacities for integrative activity into salience m u c h of the time and perhaps even share the instrumental roles that remain available with other retired m e n . For these reasons, the disengagement theory proposes that it is more difficult for a m a n to shift to socio-emotional roles and integrative activities than it is for h i m to
i. In this general statement, the word 'system' means any social system. In any particular case the system must be specified because the same acts can be part of an instrumental role viewed from one system and a socio-emotional role viewed from another. The clergyman plays an integrative role in society in general, but an instrumental role vis--vis his familyand all his professional acts can thus be categorized differently according to the system of reference.
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assume n e w instrumentalities, both because it is a less familiar m o d e for h i m and because he is in danger of competing directly with his wife a n d possibly with his grandchildren for roles within kinship or friendship circles. Therefore, the theory predicts that retirement will bring a period of m a l adjustment to m a n y American m e n . A m a n ' s response to retirement m a y be coloured by the type of work role from which he withdraws. If his role has been part of a 'true' division of labour, such that he can see the contribution that he is making to the functioning of society, h e is likely to have considerable ego involvement in his workit is to h i m as children are to a w o m a n , a persistent palpable achievem e n t . If, on the other hand, the division of labour is such that the outcome of his contribution is invisible to h i m , he will tend to be alienated from the meaning of his work and will find his rewards in his personal relationships with his fellow workers. In thefirstcase, his instrumental role has three facts: he can see his contribution to the larger society, to his immediate working group, and to his family; in the second case, he can see a contribution only to the primary groups, work and family. M e n in these two situations m a y react quite differently to retirement. T h efirstmight be expected to suffer m o r e sense of loss immediately u p o n retirementas w o m e n d o w h e n childrenfirstdepartbut eventually to take m u c h satisfaction from recalling his contribution to social goals a n d perhaps seeing others build u p o n it. T h e second m a y be relieved at leaving a meaningless work role but eventually suffer from lack of the symbolic connexion with his o w n past, especially if he is a selector and accustomed to depending u p o n symbols for his orientation and sense of self. Disengagement from central life roles is basically different for w o m e n than for m e n . This seems to be because w o m e n ' s roles are essentially u n changed from girlhood to death. In the course of their lives w o m e n are asked to give u p only pieces of their core socio-emotional roles or to change their details. Their transitions are therefore easier1the wife of a retired m a n can use her integrative skills to incorporate h i m in n e w groupings. She must, if she is tactful, b e c o m e even m o r e integrative through abandoning to h i m the m o r e adaptive of her domestic tasks. Similarly, the problems raised by w i d o w h o o d are m o r e easily resolved than the problems raised by retirement. Moreover, the loss of status anchorage that w o m e n suffer at the time of a husband's death is less severe than the loss of status suffered at retirem e n t because w i d o w h o o d , unlike retirement, has no tinge of failure in it.2
i. This point is strikingly made by Peter Townsend w h o has described {The Family Life of Old People, Glencoe, 111., Free Press, 1957) h o w working-class w o m e n in London pass smoothly through the roles of daughter, mother, and grandmother. The pattern in America m a y be somewhat less straightforward, but the disjunction for w o m e n still seems far less acute than for m e n . 2. W h e n the data from which the disengagement theory was induced were gathered, the responsibility of w o m e n to feed their husbands in such a way as to avoid coronary heart disease had not appeared in the mass media. There m a y be a tendency since then for widowhood under some circumstances to be construed as role failure.
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It is the blameless termination of a valued role. Furthermore, the differential death rate that leaves about 20 per cent of American w o m e n living without a conjugal bond by the age of 60, provides a membership group for them. 1 M e n , in contrast, have difficulty finding memberships to compensate for work associations. In general w e might say that a w o m a n ' s lifelong training to a role that is primarily socio-emotional but nevertheless includes adaptive skills leaves her more diffusely adaptable than a m a n ' s working career leaves him, because he does not automatically need integrative skills. Integrative skills are, in a sense, the lingua franca wherever people interact with one another. Adaptive skills, in contrast, tend to be m o r e functionally specific and less easily transferred. T h e disposition toward the instrumental role can remain after retirement, but the specific skills lose relevance. Only rarely does a w o m a n find herself with no membership group that can use her integrative contribution. Finally, a retired m a n loses suitable role modelsthat is, role partners with w h o m h e can try out patterns of adaptation and hence learn alternatives. H e must seek out other retired m e n w h o are themselves tinged with failure in his eyesor learn from w o m e n . W o m e n , again because of the differential death rate, have m o r e models, a n d these are m o r e familiar. For both m e n and w o m e n , however, the roles of old age must b e learned from others w h o are themselves relatively free of constraintsunlike children w h o are taught the roles they anticipatefillingby adults w h o are as fully engaged and constrained as they will ever be. A m o n g married couples, a crucial event after retirement m a y be a shifting of the representative role from the m a n to the w o m a n . While he works, a husband endows his family with its position in society, but after h e enters the socio-emotional world of w o m e n and leisure, his wife tends to represent their conjugal society at kinship gatherings and social affairs even in church activities. In this regard, also, m e n are m o r e freed by retirement than w o m e n are b y w i d o w h o o d . If these differences between m e n and w o m e n are important, there should be a visible contrast in their ability to cope with the discontinuities of the disengagement process. T w o obvious examples are available, that appear related, on the one hand, to w o m e n ' s abilities infindingroles in social systems and, o n the other, to the sudden freedom from constraint of retirement. In Table 1 w e see the relative proportions of m e n and w o m e n in a study sample w h o , w h e n seeking help from a public relief agency, were found to be homeless as well as in need of m o n e y . At no age are m e n w h o are in economic distress as able as w o m e n to maintain membership in a domestic unit. Indeed, there is n o female counterpart in America to the 'homeless m a n ' . In Table 2, w e see that a m o n g a cohort of m e n and w o m e n 1. This does not mean that w o m e n go out and 'join' a group of widows. M y impression is that they re-establish old bonds, or move closer to other w o m e n who have lost their husbands or never married. They probably tighten their ties to their children at this time also.
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Aien Under 60 years A g e 60 and over Women Under 60 years A g e 60 and over
44
. Excluding migrant workers, and those temporarily stranded away from home. These data are from a study of the division of labour among the integrative agents of societyfinancedin part by N I M H (National Institute of Mental Health) Grant M4735, Principal Investigator Elaine Cumming.
Men
Married Non-married Women Married Non-married
43 16 27 57 16 4
12.5
18.5
12.5
6.2 37-'
0.0
26.8
9.8
1. I a m grateful to Mary Lou Parlagreco and John Cumming for permission to use these data from an unpublished study.
over 6 0 years of age entering a mental hospital for the first time, one-third of the non-married m e n h a d b e e n living in shelters a n d old people's h o m e s , whereas less than one-tenth of the non-married w o m e n h a d c o m e from such institutions. W o m e n without husbands appear able to a c c o m m o d a t e themselves to both the households of others a n d the hospital environment m o r e readily than m e n without wives. 1 T h e differences in both tables are statistically significant at better than the i per cent level of confidence. In Fig. 1, w e see the rates of suicide, by age, for m e n a n d w o m e n . A t the age that disengagement is postulated to occur, 65-75, t n e r a t e f suicide a m o n g w o m e n drops a n d continues to drop, while a m o n g m e n it rises persistently.2 T h e figure leads to the speculation that w o m e n g o from a little too m u c h constraint to just the right a m o u n t of freedom while m e n g o from too m u c h of the o n e to too m u c h of the other. In spite of this dramatic difference, it is unlikely that m e n w h o survive the transition crisis of retirem e n t are as disadvantaged as these data m a k e t h e m seem; they are m o r e In the area of study, a shelter, which is really a 'poorhouse', and even an old people's h o m e is considered m u c h less desirable than a nursing h o m e or hospital. This m a y be an exaggerated phenomenon in America. In England, for example, the rates for m e n and w o m e n are more nearly parallel.
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25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75-84
85 +
AGE FIG. i. Rates of suicide per 100,000 population for all white residents of continental United States, 1957. (Adapted from Table C O , Summary of Mortality Statistics: United States, 1957, Washington, D . C . National Office of Vital Statistics.) likely to resemble Charles L a m b , w h o says of his sudden and unexpected retirement: 'For thefirstday or t w o I felt stunnedoverwhelmed. I could only apprehend m y felicity; I w a s too confused to taste it sincerely. I w a n dered about, thinking I w a s happy, a n d knowing that I w a s not. I w a s in the condition of a prisoner in the old Bastille, suddenly let loose after a forty years' confinement. I could scarce trust mysel fwith myself. It was like passing out of T i m e into Eternityfor it is a sort of Eternity for a m a n to have all his T i m e to himself. It seemed to m e that I had m o r e time o n m y hands than I could ever m a n a g e . F r o m a poor m a n , poor in T i m e , I w a s suddenly lifted u p into a vast revenue; I could see n o end of m y possessions; I wanted s o m e steward, or judicious bailiff, to m a n a g e m y estates in T i m e for m e . A n d here let m e caution persons growing old in active business, not lightly, nor without weighing their o w n resources, to forego their customary employment all at once, for there m a y b e danger in it. I feel it b y myself,
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but 1 k n o w that m y resources are sufficient; a n d n o w that thosefirstgiddy raptures have subsided, I have a quiet home-feeling of the blessedness of m y condition.'1
CHANGES IN SOLIDARITY
I have discussed disengagement as it affects temperamental types, as a n inner experience, as a social imperative, a n d as a response to changing roles. Perhaps the most economical w a y of describing it is in terms of shifting solidarities that m a y have roots in middle life. In general, ageing brings change from solidarity bonds based o n differences of function a n d hence o n mutual dependency to bonds based o n similarities a n d c o m m o n sentiments. T h e post-retirement part of a m a n ' s life can be considered, therefore, in terms of a two-stage shift in the nature of his relationships with his wife, his kinsmen, a n d the rest of the world that starts with departure of children and retirement. O n the one h a n d , the 'organic solidarity' of a divided labour that m a r k e d his conjugal life is weakened because after retirement he n o longer has a clearly m a r k e d , publicly recognized, instrumental role; therefore, the 'mechanical solidarity' of c o m m o n belief and sentiments that m u s t precede a n d a c c o m p a n y the division of labour becomes m o r e salient.2 O n the other h a n d , the m a n a n d his wife, as a unit, are n o longer functioning as a factory for m a k i n g adults from children a n d hence are n o w related to other segments of society through c o m m o n characteristics. T h u s , both m e n a n d w o m e n a b a n d o n the mutual obligations a n d p o w e r problems of a divided labour a m o n g themselves as well as between themselves a n d society. T h e y m o v e into a m o r e equalitarian relationship with each other a n d with the worlda relationship in w h i c h solidarity is based almost entirely u p o n a consensus of values a n d a commonality of interest. M o s t importantly, the n e w segmental solidarity is m a r k e d b y a n essential redundancy of the parts.3 Loss of a m e m b e r from a system of divided labour disrupts the system. Loss of a m e m b e r from a group of peers diminishes the society but does not disrupt it. T h e second stage of old age c o m e s w h e n the old person is n o longer able to carry out the m i n i m u m adaptive behaviour necessary to maintain health, or cleanliness or propriety. A t that point, s o m e o n e else must enter the conjugal society to perform adaptive functions for both m a n a n d wife, i. Charles L a m b , ' T h e superannuated m a n ' , in Aging in Today's Society, eds. Clark Tibbitts and W i l m a Donahue, N e w York: Prentice-Hall, i960, p . 99-100. 2. It is, of course, impossible to imagine a division of labour between people w h o are not bound by any c o m m o n sentiments. 3. This is not so for the conjugal society toward the end of life. Immediately after retirement, husbands seem redundant to m a n y w o m e n w h o have developed lives of their o w n since the termination of child raising. However, extremely old people, with no division of labour at all, become dependent upon one another to such an extent that if one dies the other is likely to follow quickly. This special case of a very binding mechanical solidarity is probably the result of these extremely old people being almost merged into one identity like twin infants. 39 !
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and thus they return to the asymmetrical social condition of infantstheir contribution to the solidarity lies not in what they do but what they are m e m b e r s by birthright of a family. A very old person with no family ties has the pathos of an orphaned child and society deals with h i m accordingly. This terminal dependency excludes all other social relations. Indeed, a m o n g the extremely aged, 'collective monologues' such as Piaget describes a m o n g children m a y replace conversation, for as Durkheim says'society has retreated from the old person, or what amounts to the same thing, he has retreated from it'. Summarizing the shift in solidarity in m o r e concrete terms, w e m a y say that m e n at work are tied together by sentiments about the work itself and w o m e n by sentiments about children, schools1 and domestic matters. After work ceases, the bonds between a m a n and those he worked with must literally be reforged if they are to survive, because they must have n e w substance. After children leave h o m e , while m u c h must be rewrought between w o m e n , it is less than for m e n because they still have in c o m m o n the roles of spouse and motheralthough the latter m a y be somewhat attenuated. A m o n g kindred there are values and sentiments arising from m a n y c o m m o n experiences, and, therefore, it is easy for solidarity to persist after disengagement. In other words, it is the diffusely-bonded solidarities that survive and the specifically-bonded ties that wither. If a specific bond involves some divided labour, the attachment is stronger, but once the conditions of mutual dependency are removed, it is weakened. In diffuselybonded relationships, of which kinship is the prototype, c o m m o n sentiments, values and traditions inevitably form around m a n y activities and events. For this reason, such stable solidarities persist through role changes and become the salient relationships of old age. T h e energy to force such strong links as exist between siblings or very old friends because of c o m m o n history, c o m m o n experience, and interlocking membership, m a y be lost as soon as biological energy begins to fade. It should be noted that there are certain 'atemporal' roles available to m e n that do not become outmoded and can be the basis of a divided labour until extreme old age. T h e clergyman's role, for example, is concerned with persistent values; it resists obsolescence because it ties society to its timeless values. T h e clergyman is the instrumental leader in his family but with the larger society as the social system of reference, he performs an integrative function in an important socio-emotional role. Such roles seem to perform for the whole society the function that w o m e n perform for the familythey maintain the pattern of values that inform the goals and they reduce the tension generated by the effort of adaptation. Their content is the lingua franca of the general culture.
i. American society strongly encourages women to belong to school-related organizations and thus to meet the mothers of other children. 392
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IMPLICATIONS
In this discursive account of the disengagement theory, I have raised m o r e problems than I have begun to solve. T h e additions to the theory are u n tidily grafted on to the original formulation without regard to whether or not they contradict it or shift its focus. T h e next task is to formalize the propositions and wherever possible cast them in terms that can be tested but this is another undertaking for another time. Given the choice, I have taken what is for m e the pleasanter alternative of thinking widely rather than rigorously, and in doing so I have drawn attention to the theory's need for greater rigour.
393
T h e reader of a paper o n the economic aspects of ageing might expect to find one of two things. T h efirstwould be an examination of the problem from the viewpoint of the economy as a whole. Such a study would be concerned with the impact of changes in the size and age structure of the working population upon the volume of production, or with the economic implications of various methods of financing pension schemes. Another approach, however, is to examine the sources and levels of income available to the aged in the population. Such a study is concerned with the forces determining the share of the national income available to the aged, and the w a y in which that share is distributed between different groups of old people. In this paper I wish to adopt the second approach. I shall first discuss the problem of work and retirement and the economic dependency of old age. T h e n I shall consider (a) recent developments in government pension systems, (b) the continued importance of earnings in old age, (c) the relativefinancialposition of older m e n , w o m e n , and couples, (d) the problems of equity and economy for pension schemes, and (e) alternatives to government pension schemes.
W O R K A N D RETIREMENT
In any society where the allocation of resources to individuals is determined by their contribution to the productive process through work, or the ownership of property, difficulties arise for those w h o find their ability to work interrupted or reduced. This is no n e w problem. T h e economic dependency of old age has always been a social problem. W h a t is n e w in developed societies is its magnitude. T h e numbers of older people have increased both absolutely and relatively. Since the turn of the century the proportion of the population over 65 has increased by 20 per cent in Sweden and 40 per cent in France; it has doubled in the United States of America and in West Germany, and increased more than two and a quarter times in Great Britain.1 1. United Nations Population Studies N o . 26: The Aging of Populations and its Economic and Social Implications, United Nations, N e w York, 1956.
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In Britain, for example, the n u m b e r of m e n and w o m e n over 65 has increased from 1.7 million in 1900 to over 6 million in 1961 and n o w represents nearly 12 per cent of the total population.1 In addition to the growth in the numbers of the aged, institutional changes in modern industrial society have also had important repercussions upon the dependency of the old. T h e problem is complex. This is revealed as soon as w e try to attach meaning to the phrase 'interruption of, or interference with, the ability to work'. T h e simplest interpretation is in terms of a reduced physical ability to work as people get older; but recent research has revealed that 'ability to work' can only be meaningfully interpreted in terms of specific activities and occupations, some of which appear to be m o r e conducive than others to lengthening the period of working life. For the United States, Steiner and Dorfman state that: 'continued participation in the labour force after age 65 is clearly related to occupationalgroup classification. Two-thirds of the professional and technical m e n remained in the labour force after reaching 65; less than a third of the unskilled labourers or clerical workers continue to work or to seek work actively after that age.' 2 Examining data for a n u m b e r of countries of Western Europe and for the United States, Wolfbein and Burgess note h o w the proportion of the working population rises with age in respect of farming, and h o w the proportion of self-employed workers also increases with increasing age. They do not find any marked change for white-collar workers. 3 W e cannot yet claim completely to understand the reasons for such differences. A n important aspect (but it is only one aspect) m a y be the ability, in certain occupations, to vary the intensity and rhythm of work as senescence brings with it a decline of powers. But however incomplete our understanding, there is considerable agreement that the industrial and occupational environment is changing, and in such a w a y as to m a k e the older m a n less able to work, according to the standards and requirements of modern industry. 'But the accelerating progress of mechanization and automation is beginning to affect the prospects of the older employee. Leaving aside the difficulty such a m a n m a y encounter in adjusting himself to n e w techniques, w e can distinguish two major consequences of their introduction. T h e y tend to measure a m a n ' s reliability b y tests that are m o r e rigorous than supervisors would have applied under less mechanized conditions; and they tend at the same time to limit the range of those "light" jobs to which elderly factory workers could on occasion have been transferred.'4 Ability to work
1. Annual Abstract of Statistics No. gg, H M S O , London, 196a. 2. Peter O . Steiner and Robert Dorfman, The Economic Status of the Aged, University of California Press, 1957. 3. S. L . Wolfbein and E . W . Burgess, 'Employment and retirement', in: Aging in Western Societies, (ed.) E . W . Burgess, University of Chicago Press, i960. 4. F. Le Gros Clark, Growing Old in a Mechanised World, The Nuffield Foundation, London, i960.
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m u s t then b e seen as ability to d o those jobs w h i c h are available to the individual worker in the particular occupational framework in w h i c h h e finds himself. This is a framework w h i c h is changing with time. Ability to work is also determined b y institutional factors such as the extent of compulsory retirement. This is a growing practice of private a n d state-run industry in m a n y countries. Recent surveys have s h o w n that in Britain nearly 3 0 per cent of all m e n are involuntarily retired, either because of a fixed a g e for retirement or because of dismissal, closure of the plant, etc.1 Estimates for the United States are similar.2 These m e n represent a significant minority. T h e existence of m i n i m u m ages at w h i c h government old-age pensions b e c o m e payable m a y also influence retirement behaviour. This m i n i m u m age varies considerably from country to country; it usually lies s o m e w h e r e between 6 0 a n d 7 0 , the m o s t c o m m o n age being 6 5 . 3 But the enshrinement of one particular age in legislation in this w a y m a y help to create the expectation that retirement at that age is ' n o r m a l ' . In s o m e countries, like the United States a n d Great Britain, there is additional pressure in so far as p a y m e n t of full benefit under the government scheme is conditional u p o n complete or partial retirement. W h a t are the factors w h i c h determine the ages fixed under such governm e n t pension schemes or b y private industry? A g a i n there is a complex set of factors at w o r k . In activities w h e r e the expectation of hierarchical p r o m o tion is a feature of the job, fixed retirement ages are important in providing opportunities to offer a d v a n c e m e n t to younger m e n . In government schemes there m a y be pressures to raise the m i n i m u m age at w h i c h benefits are received because of fears about reduction in the size of the labour force or because of a desire to reduce the cost of pensions to the State.4 Conversely, w h e r e u n e m p l o y m e n t is a p r o b l e m , the age at w h i c h benefits are payable m a y b e set l o w in order to get older workers off the labour market. Certainly fluctuations in the general level of economic activity will affect the extent to w h i c h older people are able to find w o r k . W h e n there is u n e m ployment it is the older worker w h o finds it most difficult to get a job or is thefirstto b e dismissed.5 Finally 'ability to w o r k ' m a y also b e influenced b y need. A t the beginning of the century few countries h a d a n y universal system for maintaining the incomes of the aged. A s R o w n t r e e remarked of Britain: 'In 1899, a person too old to w o r k a n d having n o private source of i n c o m e h a d as a rule to choose between t w o alternatives, either to live, often as a n u n w a n t e d guest, with a married son or daughter, or to g o into the w o r k h o u s e ' . 6
1. Reasons given for Retiring or Continuing at Work, H M S O , London, 1954. 2. Margaret S . Gordon, ' T h e older worker and retirement policies', Monthly Labor Review, vol. 83, no. 6, i960. 3. Report of the Director General. Part 1: 'Older People's W o r k and Retirement', I L O , Geneva, 196a. 4. Report of the Committee on the Economic and Financial Provisionsfor Old Age, C m d . 933
H M S O , London, 1954.
5. Report of the Director General, I L O , op. cit. 6. B . Seebohm Rowntree, Poverty and Progress, Longmans, 1941.
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If the only alternative to being able to work is to starve, then a m a n m a y go o n being 'able' to work for m u c h longer than if he feels he can choose to stop. It seems very likely that prospective retirement income has s o m e influence u p o n the worker's decision to retire. It has been suggested that 'the higher the level of pension benefits in relation to average earnings in the country the smaller the proportion of elderly m e n in the labour force is likely to b e ' . 1 F r o m all this, one fact emerges. In almost all industrialized countries there has been a tendency, over the last half-century, for the proportion of older m e n in the labour force to decline.2 In this sense too, then, there has been a n increase in the magnitude of the economic problem of old age.
V i e w e d in this w a y , inability to work, which results in the dependency of old age, is seen largely as a socially determined condition, influenced by industrial practice, by the level of technological advance, b y legislation (often inspired b y quite alien considerations) a n d b y social norms. T h e emphasis u p o n the socially determined antecedents of the problem is extremely important in connexion with such questions as h o w to meet the economic needs of the aged. Increasingly there has been acceptance of social or government responsibility. Countries with government pension provisions for the aged n o w n u m b e r s o m e sixty-four.3 Since the Second W o r l d W a r there have also been major revisions in the coverage a n d principles of m a n y of these schemes. W i d e r sections of the community have been brought within their scope, a n d there has also been a trend towards relating benefits to earnings, either to the pensioners' o w n previous earnings or to the level of general earnings in the community. T h e 1952 Social Security ( M i n i m u m Standards) Convention of the I L O laid d o w n a standard for the level of benefits payable under national pension schemes which, o n satisfaction of full contribution conditions, w a s to be equal to 40 per cent of the average earnings of an unskilled worker (the standard earnings).4 T e n years later the Director-General of the I L O wrote: 'Reports recently received from ten m e m b e r s having ratified the Social Security ( M i n i m u m Standards) Conventions 1952 and from forty-six other m e m b e r s show that in most national pension schemes the a m o u n t of the pension is about 50 per cent of the standard earnings. This is not always the case however. S o m e countries pay only 20 to 35 per cent
1. Margaret S. Gordon, ' A Critique of the Paper Presented by L . E . Troclet', in: Social and Psychological Aspects of Aging, (ed.) Clark Tibbitts and W i l m a Donahue, Columbia University Press, 1962. 2. Wolfbein and Burgess, op. cit., i960. 3. Social Security Programmes Throughout the World, United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1961. 4. Official Bulletin of the ILO, vol. 34-35, I L O , Geneva, 1952.
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of earnings while in others the rate equals or exceeds 6 0 per cent.'1 R e m e m bering that the 'standard' is the earnings of a n unskilled worker, the drop in income which is experienced o n retirement must be very considerable in m a n y countries. But the actual financial situation a m o n g retired persons m a y be even worse than this would indicate. In s o m e of the most recent pension schemes, several years elapse before m a x i m u m benefits are payable. T h e Swedish pension legislation of 1959 provides for supplementary graduated pensions which together with the flat-rate universal old-age pension will provide u p to a m a x i m u m of 6 0 per cent of past earnings, revalued for price changes. But contributions must continue for twenty years before this level is reached. 2 M e a n w h i l e most pensioners are, and will be for several years, receiving the universal old-age pension which, for a couple, is at present equal to s o m e 30 per cent of average male earnings in industry. A wage-related element of the State retirement pension was also introduced in Great Britain in 1961. Even after forty years of contribution, the m a x i m u m pension for a couple would only represent 4 0 per cent of average earnings.3 Again, however, most pensioners today a n d for several years to c o m e will be dependent upon the fiat-rate benefit which, in the case of a couple, represents 30 per cent of average male earnings. T h e G e r m a n pension reform of 1957 w a s in s o m e respects m o r e far-reaching than the Swedish, a n d certainly than the British. Because of the existence of earnings records for m a n y of today's pensioners it w a s possible to relate even pensions in payment, as well as future pensions, to the level of the individual worker's past earnings. T h e legislation also specifically allows for pensions in p a y m e n t to be adjusted upwards if there is a real increase in earnings and such adjustments have been m a d e . E v e n so, in i960, the average pension being paid to a n insured person (not w i d o w s of insured persons) under the wage-earners' scheme w a s 35 per cent of the current average w a g e . 4 Pensioners currently retiring were receiving m u c h larger s u m s but w e have been reminded that 'average pensions include those paid to persons w h o have contributed for a comparatively short time only, for example for the fifteen years qualifying period d e m a n d e d for old age pensions.' 3 E a c h n e w pension scheme w h i c h depends u p o n the building u p of rights based o n contributions m a d e during working life faces the problem of h o w rapidly such rights should b e built u p a n d h o w and to w h a t extent existing pensioners are to benefit. T h e problems of the people w h o will retire twenty years hence m a y b e solved, but today's pensioners a n d those w h o join t h e m in the early years of any scheme will form the majority of the aged population for m a n y years so that there is a gap between legal provisions and the actual economic position of the aged. T o study the latter,
1. 2. 3. 4.
Report of the Director-General, I L O , op. cit. 'Supplementary pensions in Sweden', Industry and Labour, vol. 22, 1959. Provision for Old Age. C m n d . 538, H M S O , London, 1958. Kurt Jantz, 'Pension reform in Germany'. International Labour Review, vol. 83, 1961. 5. Ibid.
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and to try to assess the extent of dependency and the role of government, detailed studies of the sources and levels of income of the aged are required. Although Britain and the United States are two countries where government pension schemes have been least ambitious, a n u m b e r of interesting points emerge from studies which have been m a d e there of the actual economic position of the old.
EARNINGS AND THE INCOME OF THE OLD Most discussions of the employment and financial problems associated with ageing in modern society are concerned with a group above a certain chronological age, usually determined b y reference to the age at which government pensions become payable (the retirement age). In m y recent survey of the economic circumstances of old people in Britain I used such an age criterion. T h e data relate to w o m e n of 60 and over, and m e n of 65 and over. Most financial data available for the United States relate to m e n and w o m e n of 65 a n d over. In the following discussion the British data are taken from m y survey, except where other references are given,1 and relate to the period 1959-60. Material for the United States is from a variety of sources and relates to a n u m b e r of time periods. T h e first thing about the financial position of older people which stands out in such countries as the United States and Britain is the extent to which employment remains important as a source of income even after the retirement age is reached. M y data for Britain describe the position of 'income units', that is couples where the husband is 65 or over, single or widowed m e n of 65 and over, or single or widowed w o m e n of 60 and over (henceforth to be described as m e n a n d w o m e n alone, i.e., without spouses but not necessarily living alone). E m p l o y m e n t income in its widest sense, from wages or salaries, from self-employment, from full-time work or from casual and irregular work provided a quarter of all the income available to the units in the sample, and a quarter of them were in receipt of such income. T h e position is very similar in the United States: 'Next to social insurance, employment is still by far the most important single source of income for aged persons. It is estimated that in June 1961 24 per cent of all persons aged 65 and over (including earners' wives w h o were not themselves employed) had some income from employment.' 2 There is a marked contrast between the total income levels of those old people w h o are still working full-time and those w h o have retired. In the British data the units still working had total incomes between one and a half and two and a half times greater than the retired units. About a fifth of the husbands in couples were working full time, 13 per cent of the 1. Dorothy Cole with John Utting, The Economic Circumstances of Old People, The Codicote Press, Welwyn, 1962. 2. Lenore A . Epstein, Sources and Size of Money Income of the Aged, Social Security Bulletin, 1962.
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m e n alone but only 7 per cent of the w o m e n alone. T h e general picture is very similar for the United States, although the differences are, if anything, larger. 'In 1957 only about one-fifth of all m e n aged 65 and over and 4 per cent of all aged w o m e n were year-round, full-time earners. Their annual income was roughly two and a half to three times that for all aged persons.'1 It would be misleading, however, to assume that thesefiguresindicate the extent of the drop in income which is experienced on retirement. 'White collar', professional or self-employed people often tend to be high income receivers. If, as has been suggested, they continue in work longer than others a m o n g older people, then the over-retirement age group in work will tend to contain a higher proportion of high earners than the retired group contains of past high earners. Again, there will be a higher proportion of single w o m e n a m o n g w o m e n alone w h o are still working than a m o n g w o m e n alone w h o are not working full-time. M a n y of the latter will be widows w h o have not been in the labour-force since they married. For such people changes in financial status are not associated with their o w n retirement butfirstwith that of their husband, and second with the death of their husband. Other factors are also at work. In Britain and the United States, where former employers sometimes have their o w n pension schemes, payment of such pensions is usually conditional upon the worker ceasing work with the particular employer w h o is to pay the pension although there is usually nothing to stop him obtaining employment elsewhere if he so desires. This is unlike the government schemes in both countries where the state pension is reduced where earnings continue u p to the age of 70 in the case of the United K i n g d o m and 72 in the United States. S o m e of the people with the highest income in the British survey were those w h o had both a private pension and earnings. For them, ironically enough, reaching old age could actually m e a n an increase in income. W e m a y conclude that even after the official retirement age employment remains important as a source of income. There is a considerable difference between the income levels of those old people w h o do continue to work full-time and those w h o do not. This difference is some indication of the extent of the drop in income on retirement but no more than an indication. T o study that change one would need surveys designed to follow the experience of the same individual before and after retirement, and this is afieldwhere little work has been done.
1. Lenore A . Epstein, 'Money income of aged persons: a 10-year review, 1948 to 1958'. Social Security Bulletin, 1959.
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In most industrialized countries a higher proportion of m e n than of w o m e n is to be found in the labour force at any given age. T h e following table shows data for selected age groups for Great Britain.1 T A B L E I. Total working population expressed as percentage of total population in Great Britain, 1961
Females Selected age groups Males Single and widowed 50-54 Married
95
94 4
90
73 i
61 31
55-59 60-64
65 +
27
39 31 16 i 6
These figures almost certainly underestimate the extent of unofficial part-time a n d casual e m p l o y m e n t , which m a y well be m o r e important for w o m e n than for m e n . But even allowing for this, o n the basis of continued e m p l o y m e n t after retirement age alone, w e would expect to find a m a r k e d difference between the income levels of older couples a n d m e n alone o n the one hand, a n d w o m e n alone o n the other. Y e t even in the group which has retired from regular w o r k (though they m a y have s o m e casual or irregular employment income) the couples are better off. Their income is twice or m o r e than twice as high as that of the w o m e n alone. T A B L E 2. Old people w h o have retired: total income in pounds sterling per a n n u m in Britain, 1959-60.
Couples
Men alone
Women alone
386 489
230 313
182 240
S o m e difference is also to be expected because m a n y government pension schemes (of which the British is one) m a k e a special allowance in recognition of the needs of a dependent wife of the pensioner. T h e variations in the recognition have been discussed b y Abel-Smith. 2 In Britain the additional needs of a wife are reckoned to b e about 60 per cent of those of a person alone. This is afigurewhich seems to derive from calculations of subsistence needs m a d e in the pre-war period b y such students of poverty as R o w n t r e e , a n d implies that the needs of a person alone will include the cost of m a i n tenance of a n independent establishment a n d m u s t cover expenditure on rent, fuel, etc. 1. Estimates of the Future Working Population. Economic Trends 1962. H M S O , London. 2. Brian Abel-Smith, 'Pensions for dependent wives', in: Social and Psychological Aspects of Aging, op. cit. 1962.
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T h e figures in Table 2 show a m u c h greater difference than 60 per cent. A n examination of the sources and levels of income of couples and w o m e n alone reveals that the explanation of the difference lies in the m u c h greater diversity and multiplicity of income available to couples. T A B L E 3. Sources of income of old people who have retired:1 percentage having a particular source of income in Britain, 1959-60.
Source o income Couples Men alone W o m e n alone
Government pension and assistance Pension from previous employer (i) own (ii) husband's Trade union pension or charitable trust payment Casual or irregular employment Rent interest, dividends
94 48 .a 5 18 69
91 46 .2 7 7 61
92 7 4 3 3 52
i. Couples are classified as retired if the husband has ceased regular work. 2. Not applicable.
Not only do the couples more often receive income from these different sources but w h e n they do they receive larger amounts than do women. The same is true of the ownership of assets and property. In Britain one half of all the w o m e n alone have no assets (or a negligible amount, that is less than 50) but only a third of the m e n and a third of the couples are in this position. A t the other end of the scale only 3 per cent of the w o m e n alone o w n assets worth more than 10,000 but 6 per cent both of the couples and of the m e n alone o w n more than this amount. In the United States, if anything, the differences are greater. In their study of the economic position of the aged, using data relating to 1951, Steiner and Dorfman report on all aged persons, not simply those w h o had retired: 'The median receipts of unrelated females were 420, the median income was 273, not quite half of the median income of single males and less than a quarter of that of couples. The low receipts of unrelated females were closely related to the limited n u m b e r of their receipts.'1 M o r e recent data for the United States relate to recipients of pensions under the provision of the Federal Government's Old A g e Survivors and Disability Insurance system. There married couples, single retired workers and aged widows are distinguished. In 1957 the couples had a m e d i a n total income two a n d a half times that of the aged w i d o w s . Only 2 per cent of the widows had a n employer's or union pension compared with 25 per cent of the couples ; 52 per cent of t h e m had asset income compared with 6 0 per cent of the couples; 14 per cent of them h a d earnings compared with 39 per cent of the couples; a n d in every case the median income received 1. Steiner and Dorfman, op. cit., 1957.
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from a particular source was lower for the widows than for the couples.1 T h e converse of this situation in respect of other sources of income is naturally that the w o m e n alone, single and widowed, are far more dependent u p o n government sources of income. T h e O A S D I study already referred to above says: ' O l d age and survivors insurance benefits provided practically all the m o n e y income of about one fourth of the aged beneficiaries'.2 It then continues: Aside from their O A S I benefits one in every five beneficiary couples, m o r e than one in every four single, retired workers and more than one in every three aged widows had n o additional income during the survey year.' Another piece of evidence which confirms the poverty of aged w o m e n in both Britain and the United States is the relatively high proportion w h o are receiving public assistance. In the United States public assistance is a local state matter. In Britain it is administered by the central government through the National Assistance Board. In both countries it is payable subject to a means test. O f the w o m e n , 3 0 per cent alone, of the m e n , 20 per cent alone, but only 11 per cent of the couples were receiving help from the National Assistance Board in Britain. In the United States in the 1957 survey of O A S D I beneficiaries, 12 per cent of the widows, 14 per cent of the single retired workers and 6 per cent of the couples reported receiving public assistance payments during the year.3 In the British survey I used a concept of being 'primarily' or 'solely' dependent upon government benefits, that is either pensions or public assistance or both. A n y o n e with less than 5 a year in addition to such benefits w a s said to be 'solely' dependent o n the state. A n y o n e with less than 52 a year w a s said to be 'primarily' .dependent. Considering all people over retirement age together, whether working or not, 58 per cent of the w o m e n alone were solely or primarily dependent upon the state, but only 23 per cent of the couples were in this position. I have placed such emphasis o n the relative poverty of single and widowed w o m e n because from being a minority they become a majority as w e m o v e u p the age range. In Britain in 1961 single and widowed w o m e n were 6 per cent of the age group 30-39, 8 per cent of the age group 40-49, 13 per cent of the age group 50-59; but were 41 per cent of the total population over 65. In such a situation, the framing of pension policies almost solely b y reference to what happens to a worker w h e n he or she ceases to work can become rather meaningless. T h e majority of aged widows in Britain have never worked full-time since their marriage. It is true that in most industrialized countries m o r e and m o r e married w o m e n are working, so that, in 1. National Survey of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Beneficiaries. Highlights from Preliminary TabulationsIncome. N u m b e r 1. United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1957. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid.
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the long run, there will be some change in the work experience of aged w o m e n although it is unlikely to be a dramatic one. T h e nature of married w o m e n ' s employment, m u c h of it part-time, is also such that it seems unlikely that there will be any great increase in the n u m b e r of married w o m e n with entitlement to pensions from their former employers. In the British survey, only 2 per cent of the widows had such pensions on the basis of their o w n employment whereas almost half the couples had such pensions, and afifthof the single w o m e n . If government pension schemes are to be increasingly geared to past work experience it becomes important that the position of widows should be guaranteed via their husband's rights. W h a t is true of government schemes, where there is usually some if not wholly adequate provision for the preservation of the widow's position, is even more true of private pension schemes. Only 5 per cent of all the widows in the British sample were drawing pensions from schemes run by their husband's former employer. O n e other point deserves c o m m e n t in relation to the position of w o m e n , and emerges from an examination of the economic circumstances of the spinsters in the British data. While w o m e n ' s wages remain at levels something like two-thirds those of m e n ' s , any formula, such as a percentage of former earnings, which m a y produce acceptable levels of pensions for m e n , m a y well not d o so for w o m e n . Wage-relation of pensions gives a n e w emphasis to the demands for equal pay for equal work.
T H E PROBLEM OF EQUITY
T h e differences which exist between the income levels of different groups in the aged population have also served to underline the complexity of the sources from which old people's income is derived. In the United States this m a y not be surprising since even with the recent extensions of coverage, O A S D I benefits were still only d r a w n by two-thirds of the population over 65.* In Britain, however, the basic retirement pension is drawn by nearly three-quarters of those over retirement age. Against this background it is easy to see h o w the problem of equity has become so prominent both in Britain and the United States, despite their dissimilar government pension systems. B y the problem of equity w e m e a n the difficulty of reconciling the desire to concentrate limited resources u p o n those of the aged w h o most need help, with the desire to grant pensions as of right, subject to the satisfaction of contribution conditions, and without a m e a n s test. While government pensions remain at, or near, subsistence levels the problem is not quite so pressing, although it does arise. If there is any m o v e to give a relatively large real increase in pensions it becomes acute. In Britain there is widespread opposition to a means test, which today results 1. Lenore A . Epstein, op. cit., 1962. 404
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in one in three of all State pensioners with entitlement to public assistance failing to apply for it.1 But attempts to reduce the role of assistance meet with a paradoxical situation. Every increase in the level of government pensions, unless accompanied b y a corresponding increase in assistance rates, benefits the poorestfifthof pensioners (those receiving public assistance) least in terms of m o n e y income since their assistance payments are decreased to the extent that their pension is raised above assistance levels. Often in recent years the increases in assistance rates have been smaller than the increases in pension rates. A few marginal cases w h o cease to be entitled to national assistance m a y be said to have benefited in one sense, namely that their income is n o w all 'as of right' and not subject to a test of means. But the others with assistance will not have benefited by as m u c h as those pensioners w h o , by definition, are better off without assistance. It must not be assumed, however, that income from any additional source means that the pensioner is well off. Both the British and United States data indicate that the amounts of income from property, from employers' pensions and even from employment, are extremely unevenly distributed. Table 4 shows the distribution of the total a m o u n t of additional income available to government pensioners in Britain in addition to their pension and any public assistance which they m a y receive. T h e line is drawn in Table 4 to indicate where, to the right of it, the additional sources of income roughly double the amount of income available from pensions. T A B L E 4 . Distribution of amounts of income other than that from pensions and assistance (Percentage of State pensioners only) Britain, 1959-60, in pounds sterling per annum.
U p to 25 26-51 52-103 104-155 156-207 208-259 26O-3II 312 + Total
56
21
8
5
11
9
11
5
10
17
6 1
3 5
6
25
IOO IOO
O n c e again, the relative prosperity of the couples stands out: 30 per cent are above this point as against only 19 per cent of the m e n and w o m e n alone. T h e concentration at the lower end is marked. It is difficult to see h o w such a distribution can be reconciled with concentrating help where it is most needed except through some sort of sliding scale of pension payment which would vary with the a m o u n t of income already being received. This is virtually what is already done in respect of employment income in countries like Britain which operate an earnings rule. It requires the development of a device for the extension of such a principle to other income sources, which would incidentally eliminate discrimination between earned and unearned income which could well be objected to o n grounds of social justice.
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In s o m e countries, such as W e s t G e r m a n y a n d S w e d e n , recent years have seen a consolidation a n d strengthening of the State pension system. I n others like Britain it has been m u c h under attack. Since the introduction of the government's graduated scheme, four a n d a half million workers have contracted out of the State scheme. 1 Is there a n y evidence from the two countries whose data w e have examined that a n y real alternative to government pension schemes is emerging? T h e United States data o n property a n d asset ownership b y the aged are particularly interesting for Britain, where it is often argued that rising levels of real income will provide greater opportunities for people to m a k e their o w n provision for their old age. If w e can say that the American aged have enjoyed a higher standard of living than their British counterparts during their working life then the similarities in respect of ownership of assets a n d receipts of income from assets are remarkable. A third of all older people in the United States h a d n o assets other than their o w n house, 2 almost exactly the s a m e percentage as in Britain. It has been further reported that of recipients of O A S D I benefits, two-thirds h a d little or n o income from interests, dividends or rent.3 H o w m u c h significance is attached to assets in the total resources of the aged partly depends o n the extent to which the aged are willing to c o n s u m e their capital. It remains true in Britain, at least, that the really important capital owners a m o n g the aged are a small minority (6 per cent of the aged o w n e d 70 per cent of the wealth) and they b e c o m e capital owners b y inheritance rather than b y a c c u m u lation during their working life. Furthermore an examination of data for Britain, relating to a group before retirement, suggests that the n e w e r generation of pensionersmen a n d w o m e n w h o will b e retiring in the next ten years or soare likely to b e in the s a m e position.4 Pensions from former employers, in so far as they are contributory, m a y b e said to represent a case where individuals can m a k e s o m e provision for their o w n old age. This of course ignores the fact that the individual employee rarely has m u c h choice about whether or not h e joins a pension scheme. Strangely e n o u g h , occupational pensions appear to be m o r e w i d e spread in Britain than in the United States. Between 4 0 a n d 5 0 per cent of the aged m e n in the British sample w e r e receiving such pensions, against only 25 per cent of the O A S D I beneficiaries in the United States survey. 5 It is possible that those without benefits receive such pensions m o r e often or that there is s o m e difference of definition here. A recent estimate o f 1. Arthur Seldon, 'Contracting out of State pensions', The Times, London, 23 Jan., x 6 9 3^ 2. Ethel Shanas, The Health of Older People, Harvard University Press, 1962. 3. National Survey of Old Age . . . , op. cit., 1957. 4. Unpublished data from a survey of thefinancialresources available to a group aged between 50 and retirement age. Department of Applied Economics, Cambridge. 5. National Survey of Old Age . . . , op. cit., 1957. 406
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the extent of coverage of present employees by such schemes in the United States put the figure at 40 per cent.1 But it has also been estimated in the United States that 40-50 per cent of the workers covered by such schemes will not in fact receive cash benefits because of non-transferability of rights, bankruptcy of firms, etc.2 This is a problem which also confronts the private pension scheme in Britain. W e cannot assume that all of the four and a half million w h o have contracted out of the State scheme will in fact retire with an adequate private pension. Although by and large the full benefits offered under private pension schemes are sizeable, the guarantee of full benefit is difficult to achieve. A worker w h o moves or loses his job m a y lose his rights, or certainly the contributions m a d e on his behalf by his employer. A t a n e w job he m a y be forced to go through a probationary period before being allowed to join the pension scheme if such a scheme exists; if not, he comes back into the government scheme. W e have already referred to the difficulties caused by the failure of private pension schemes to guarantee an income to widows. However, it is only certain schemes of this sort which offer an option to take a joint annuity on the life of husband and wife together, at a lower rate than would be available on the life of the husband alone. A word must be said about that institute of support which perhaps has the longest history in providing for old peoplenamely, the family. In Britain, recent studies3 have shown conclusively that family economic support (and here w e are ignoring help in terms of services) remains important, but as a supplement to other sources of income, not as a substitute. T h e main channel of family support is through older people living with their children. In Britain between afifthand a quarter of the aged population have no surviving children. O f the remainder just under a half live with at least one child. T h e other half have frequent contact with and frequent help in cash and kind from their children. B y the time allowance has been m a d e , however, for the fact that these gifts are often reciprocal, it is only for a minority that the net help given to those living alone is important in economic terms. It often acts as a substitute for public assistance. Old people actually living with their children, both couples and m e n and w o m e n alone, appear to be worse off than those keeping house on their o w n , arguably in respect of income, certainly in respect of assets. This appears to be the position in the United States as well, where, however, fewer people actually keep house with their children.4 There it is said the lack of resources is a reason for old people living with their children. In Britain the factors at work m a y be far more complex than this. 1. D . M . Holland, 'What can w e expect from pensions?' Harvard Business Review, vol. 37, 1959. 2. D . H . McGill, Pension Problems and Trends, University of Pennsylvania, 1955, quoted in Paul Harbrecht: Pension Funds and Economic Power, The Twentieth Century Fund, N e w York, 1959. 3. Dorothy Cole Wedderburn; John Utting, op. cit.; Peter Townsend, The Family Life of Old People, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1957. 4. Ethel Shanas, op. cit., 1962.
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First w e find that a majority of older people living with their children have always done so; a n d by those w h o have m o v e d to live with their children in old age, finance is rarely given as a major reason for the change. T h e y say that they m o v e d to be cared for in ill health a n d infirmity, or for c o m p a n ionship. Again, those w h o have always lived with their children appear to be lower urban working class. These are people w h o are likely always to have had a rather difficult financial time during their working lives; m a n y of them have been m u c h affected b y the inter-war years of depression. Clearly there is n o simple single causative factor at work. It remains true, however, that the actual real income enjoyed b y m a n y older people in Britain and the United States is higher than would appear possible from a n examination of the independent financial resources available to t h e m , because they are keeping house with their children. H o w m u c h weight is given to this in shaping policy depends u p o n value judgements partly governed b y the customs a n d habits of the country concerned. In Britain the general trend of public opinion has been a w a y from legislation to enforce family responsibility. A great p r e m i u m is set u p o n the virtues of self-help and independence during working life, and these standards are carried over into old age. O l d people d o not w a n t to have to rely o n their family for support. B u t , in practice, successive governments have relied u p o n the family to save t h e m from the outcry which would undoubtedly have ensued had old people in fact h a d to exist u p o n the levels of the m o n e y resources available to t h e m .
CONCLUSION
In m o d e r n society, as m a n gets older, his ability to work is fashioned by the operation of m a n y complex social forces. In the shaping a n d planning of pension policies in industrialized countries, attention in recent years has been increasingly paid to devices to minimize the gap between economic levels achieved during working life a n d those which follow o n retirement. Diverse political philosophies justify the adoption of wage-related State pensions. O f the G e r m a n scheme of w a g e relation it has been said, 'Social policy is not a policy administered by the rich o n behalf of the poor; it aims to harmonize the social relationships of the whole people a n d to guarantee to each the status h e has achieved b y his o w n efforts within the general order'. 1 T h e British L a b o u r Party says: 'Wage-related pensions satisfy the social requirements of the second half of the twentieth century just asflat-ratepensions suited thefirsthalf. . . . Only a n all-embracing scheme can transform w h a t is n o w a minority privilege into a right available to every citizen'.2
i. Kurt Jantz, op. cit., 1961. 2. National Superannuation. Labour Policyfor Security in Old Age, Labour Party, London 1957408
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But this paper suggests that the recent spate of pension legislation, based upon commendable principles, has all too often left a gap between the actual living condition of the aged today and the goals for future pensioners which are written into the statutes. This gap arises partly because most schemes require the satisfaction of certain contribution conditions for payment of full benefit, and partly because, in some cases, n o attempt is m a d e radically to improve the conditions of existing pensioners. T h e incomplete data for Britain and America suggest that despite the multiplicity of sources from which the old derive their income, State pensions and benefits remain all-important. There is little evidence to suggest that, with increasing wealth, personal savings will be accumulated at a level sufficient to provide for retirement; and, without radical revision, private occupational pension schemes will also be inadequate. In the meantime because of the multiplicity of sources of income, and the inequality in the distribution of those receipts, the State pension system is faced with a great problem of reconciling equity a n d economy without recourse to some sort of general income test. T h e second important point which emerges is the vulnerable position of w o m e n in old age. W h e r e there is inequality of pay for w o m e n they are always to a certain extent economically vulnerable; but those w h o do not marry are a minority, and m a n y of those w h o remain single continue to be subsidized by their parents while they are alive. Only w h e n the parents or the husband dies or is sick do w e become conscious of the low earning power of the w o m a n in contemporary society and of the problems which follow. In old age, however, single w o m e n and widows become the majority, and special steps are needed to safeguard their economic position. Finally, there have been improvements in the real standard of government old-age benefits in countries like Britain and the United States over the past few years, even if they have not been as radical as in some other countries. Despite this, however, despite the existence of important sources of income from employment and private pensions and despite support from the family, the old today form one of the most depressed groups in those two industrialized and wealthy societies.1 Poverty is a relative concept. But n o very sophisticated standards of poverty are required to describe large numbers of the old in Britain and America today as poor.
i. Dorothy Cole Wedderburn, 'Poverty in Britain Today', The Sociological Review, vol. io, no. 3, 1962.
409
If theories are understood as conceptual models closely connected with generalizations of empirical data, then theory formation should proceed only w h e n sufficient results have been collected. W e believe that social gerontology has n o w reached a stage w h e n such theory formation becomes possible. During recent years gerontological research both in the United States and in European countries has grown rapidly and enough data have already accumulated from different national and regional cultures to attempt the development of preliminary theoretical propositions on the basis of generalizations stemming from research. According to our conception of theory formation in sociology,1 theoretical propositions presuppose systematic, coherent" material with conclusions that m a y b e integrated a n d transformed into such a proposition. W e have therefore tried in thefirstpart of the following exposition to bring out the major points of similarity in the findings of research o n the relations of old people to their family of procreation, a n d in particular o n the problem of intergenerational cohesion. In so doing, w e have h a d primarily recourse to results which w e ourselves have obtained in recent years in Austria, to surveys and inquiries conducted in Vienna, 2 a n d to a 'micro-census' that is also being carried out b y the Social Science Research Centre at the University of V i e n n a . 3 T h e latter enables us to find out h o w households including old persons differ from those i. See the paragraphs on theory formation in Leopold Rosenmayr's 'Familienbeziehungen und Freizeitgewohnheiten jugendlicher Arbeiter', Vienna, 1963, p. 135 et seq. and Hans L . Zetterberg's chapter ' O n Axiomatic Theories in Sociology' in his book: On Theory and Verification in Sociology, N e w York, 1954, p. 16-28. 2. See Leopold Rosenmayr and Eva Kckeis, ' W o h n e n in Heimsttten', in: Der Aufbau, published by the Stadtbauamt Wien, vol. 16, 1961, no. 3, p. 94-101; by the same authors: 'Sozialbeziehungen i m hheren Lebensalter', in: Soziale Welt, vol. 12, no. 3, 1962, p. 214-29; also by the same authors: Umwelt und Familie alter Menschen, in the series Soziologische Texte, issued by the H e r m a n n Luchterhand Verlag, Neuwied and Berlin, 1963 (about to be published). 3. The 'micro-census' consists of a 1 per cent sample of all households in Vienna and several other federal states of Austria. For each household all the data included in the three government censuses have been assembled on one punchcard. S o m e of the data mentioned below have been computed by M r . Albert Kaufmann, research assistant at the Social Science Research Centre of Vienna University.
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AGE
of other age groups with respect to all variables included in the census data of 1961 o n population, housing a n d agriculture. T h e purpose of this paper, however, is not to give a detailed account of these findings; w h a t w e are concerned with is the astonishing convergence of the social facts a n d attitudes emerging from m a n y investigations that have been carried out o n the subject of old people a n d the family.
W e assume that the reader is aware of the dramatic rise in the average life expectancy and the increase in the proportion of elderly and aged people in the population. In German-speaking countries these developments are frequently referred to as an 'over-ageing' of the population (Vergreisung, beralterung). T h e concept of 'over-agedness' creates the impression that w e are liable to be suffocated or overwhelmed b y a n a n o n y m o u s host of old people. T h e growing n u m b e r of annuities a n d pensions payable under social security systems m a y occasionally create a feeling of being oppressed by a social burden. But the relative youthfulness of earlier age structures, the former higher proportion of children and adolescents in the c o m m u n i t y ought not to be considered as simply ideal or "healthy" (although it m a y have been partly due to philoprogenitiveness a n d a strong family sense). After all, this broad demographic basis of children and adolescents in the population pyramid w a s caused to a large extent by the fact that in pre-industrial and early industrial societies barely half of the children born reached adulthood, as French demographers have s h o w n . 1 T h e dramatic change in the age structure in favour of old people is a result of medical a n d social progress, affecting primarily the younger a n d middle age groups. 2 It is a change that can almost be called a revolution in the composition of the population. This change, however, does not only affect the 'demographic weights' in society a n d causes a shift in the population but alters the form and content of social relations within the pattern of family life. N o w a d a y s , with life expectancy rising to above seventy, a n e w chapter begins in the life of millions of parents in European a n d American industrial society u p o n the marriage of their children, this change being almost always followed by a splitting u p of their household. W e must therefore try to acquire a well-founded a n d accurate knowledge of the circumstances of the elderly and aged; w e should ascertainamong other important problemshow family relations3 and living arrangements develop over the course of the life-cycle under present demographic conditions. 1. See E d m o n d e Vedrenne-Villeneuve, 'L'ingalit sociale devant la mort dans la premire moiti d u xixe sicle', in: Population, vol. 16, no. 4 , 1961, p . 665-98. 2. It is also due to the reduced birth rates in Europe and the United States. 3. A m o n g the several types of family relationships w e shall concentrate on relations of the aged with their children and grandchildren; the marital and social relations of the aged will not be dealt with here.
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A study of the family not only during the period w h e n the children are brought u p a n d begin to participate in social lifeas has hitherto almost always been the casebut also from the standpoint of the later stages of the life-cycle offers both an essential a n d promisingfieldfor the theoretician; it is equally essential for those w h o must formulate adequate policies in social planning, housing, medical care a n d social work. Research into the household a n d family circumstances of the elderly and aged is particularly justified in a city like Vienna where, of a population of 1.7 million, 16 per cent or nearly 280,000 persons are over 65 years of age, so that our problem (even if w e consider, for the time being, only those above this rather artificial demarcation) concerns a particularly large groupone-sixth of the total population. In proceeding to set out the major facts that served us as a startingpoint for our theoretical propositions w e will endeavour to co-ordinate results from our o w n empirical investigations with those from m a n y others conducted elsewhere.1
OF THE AGED
In order to understand the family situation of old people, it must be r e m e m bered h o w very m u c h the demographic composition of this age group differs from the general structure of the population. O n the one hand, the proportion of non-married persons (i.e., single, separated or w i d o w e d ) 2 increases through the death of spouses; in Vienna, for instance, it increases from 21 per cent for the 21 to 65 year age-group to 58 per cent for those over 65 years of age. O n the other h a n d , the sex ratio is affected by the greater life expectancy of w o m e n (increased by the high death rate a m o n g m e n during the two world wars). Whilst the ratio for the total population of Austria is 100 m e n to 113 w o m e n , a m o n g old people the proportion is 100 m e n to 155 w o m e n . O f the population over 65 years of age in Vienna, the ratio is 10 m e n to 19 w o m e n , a n d the same holds for W e s t Berlin. W o m e n ' s greater life expectancy, combined with the fact that there is usually a few years' difference in age between husband and wife, also implies that, in the great majority of cases, the husband diesfirst;consequently the proportion of w i d o w e d persons is almost twice as high a m o n g aged w o m e n as a m o n g aged m e n . Non-married women therefore form by far the largest group among the aged.3 T h e composition of the population over 65 years of age (280,000) in Vienna is: non-married w o m e n , 5 0 per cent; married w o m e n , 17 per 1. For detailed statistics and further particulars about these studies, however, the reader will have to consult the works referred to in the footnotes. 2. The term 'non-married' will be used in this sense throughout. 3. Cf. also, for example, the statistics for Denmark, collected by Jrgen Alexandersen and Poul Milhoj, De Aeldre Aldersklassen, Copenhagen, 1962, p. 22 et seq.
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cent; non-married m e n , 7 per cent a n d married m e n , 2 6 per cent. This prevalence of non-married w o m e n a m o n g those aged 65 a n d over, w h i c h is particularly striking in V i e n n a , m u s t b e borne in m i n d as w e continue the discussion. T o begin with, the living arrangements of non-married persons are very different from those of married couples. T A B L E I. Living arrangements of persons 65 years of age and over (with the exception of those living in institutions)
,T. V.enna , Cologne'
G e r m a n y
Western ,
s t a t e s
United .
( ) %
( ) %
( ) %
( ) %
Married persons Living with spouse only Living with spouse and children Living with spouse and other persons (usually relatives) Non-married persons Living alone Living with their children Living with other persons (usually relatives)
33 9
2
32
11
35
12
37
12
29 23 5
100
23
20 10 100
3
21
32 14
10 100
16
11 100
(2,784)
(821)
(i>734)
1. Calculated by the Social Science Research Centre of the University of Vienna on the basis of a I per cent sample of the 1961 population census returns. 2. Otto Blume, Alte Menschen in einer Grostadt, Gttingen, 1962, p. 21; the exact number of persons investigated is not supplied. 3. Survey of the DIVO-Institute, 1958, Probability Sample. 4. Ethel Shanas, 'Living arrangements of the older people in the United States', The Gerontologist, vol. I, no. 1, 1961, p. 28.
A s Table i shows, most married old people in industrially developed areas live just with their spouse, only about a quarter share a h o m e with their children a n d very few indeed live with other people. Non-married persons, o n the other h a n d , live m o r e frequently with their children or other relatives, only about half of t h e m living entirely alone. O l d people thus live, or start living, with relatives m o r e frequently w h e n they lose their spouse. Intergenerational joint living is obviously no longer the prevailing arrangement. O f elderly people w h o have children (in V i e n n a , this applies to roughly two-thirds of this group a n d in the United States to four-fifths), only onethird or thereabouts share a h o m e with t h e m . 1 Nevertheless, recent research has refuted the concept of the isolated nuclear family of industrial society. There is a m a r k e d tendency for children to settle in the vicinity of their parents' home. In the L o n d o n working-class district 1. See, for instance, L . Rosenmayr and E . Kckeis, Umwelt und Familie . . ., op. cit.; Ethel Shanas, The Health of Older People, Cambridge, Mass., 1962, p . 96.
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of Bethnal Green, T o w n s e n d found that, in the case of half of the old people with children, at least one of the latter lived n o further than a mile off.1 A n d even in the United States, where the geographical mobility of the population is particularly great, 2 4 per cent of aged parentsin addition to the 36 per cent w h o live with their childrenreside within walking distance of a son or a daughter, and only 15 per cent are over a day's journey a w a y from the nearest of their children. This w a s proved b y Ethel Shanas in a representative sample. 2 In general, children and grandchildren frequently visit the old people. In Vienna, 4 0 per cent of the grandparents were visited by their grandchildren at least once a week, a n d two-thirds of all the old people, living in ordinary h o m e s were visited at least once a fortnight b y their children or relatives.3 Similar figures for Copenhagen were advanced b y Friis a n d M a n n i c h e 4 and for selected parts of the United States b y Langford. 5 Shanas even maintains that nine out of ten elderly persons see their children every w e e k 6 a n d , in Bethnal Green, 78 per cent of the old mothers a n d fathers meet their children daily.7 All studies have revealed that old people's most frequent visitors are members of their family. T h e aged are seen m u c h m o r e often by children a n d grandchildren (except w h e n they live too far a w a y ) 8 than b y neighbours or friends.9 In the case of childless old persons, there are often m o r e frequent contacts with other relatives. A m p l e proof of mutual help between adult children and parents provides further evidence of cohesion within the multigenerational family, even w h e n the household has split u p . During the period immediately after marriage, w h e n the children set u p their o w n households, it is generally the latter w h o receive help from their parents, in the form of allowances or services such as baby-sitting, etc.10 In later years, it is rather the parents w h o request a n d obtain help from their children. This holds even in the oldage-housing schemes of Vienna where conditions are rather unfavourable to filial aid because distances from the children tend to be m u c h greater than from the inhabitants' former h o m e s . Even there, in case of illness, the m o r e 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Peter Townsend, The Family Life of Old People, London, 1957, p. 32. E . Shanas, The Health of Older People, op. cit., p . 98. L . Rosenmayr and E . Kckeis, Umwelt und Familie . . . , op. cit. Henning Frs and Erik Manniche, Erdige Aeldre, Copenhagen, 1961, p . 35. Marilyn Langford, Community Aspects of Housing the Aged, Ithaca-New York, 1962, p. 14. 6. E . Shanas, 'Living arrangements of the older people in the United States, loc. cit. (see note 4 to table 1), p . 29. 7. P . Townsend, The Family Life of Old People, op. cit., p . 37. 8. L . Rosenmayr and E . Kckeis, Umwelt und Familie . . . , op. cit. 9. Cf. M . Langford, Community Aspects . . . , op. cit., p . 13, with 46per cent of the aged interviewed relatives 'stopped by regularly', whereas the corresponding figures were 18 per cent for neighbours and 15 per cent for friends. 10. Cf. Elisabeth Pfeil, Die Berufsttigkeit von Mttern, Tbingen, 1961, p . 328 and 330, and also numerous American investigations (e.g. Marvin B . Sussmann and Lee Burchinal, 'Parental aid to married children: implications for family functioning', in: Marriage and Family Living, vol. 24, no. 4 , 1962, p. 320 et seq.; Marvin B . Sussmann, ' T h e help pattern in the middle-class family', in: American Sociological Review, vol. 18, 1953, p. 22-8.
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substantial types of help, such as housekeeping or nursing, were mainly expected from children a n d relatives.1 U n d e r normal housing conditions in Vienna, such assistance from children or other relatives w a s expected by 62 per cent of the cases examined a n d assistance from friends or acquaintances b y only 9 per cent. A gerontological survey in Cologne revealed that 8 4 per cent of the old people believed that their children would gladly help them, if asked to d o so.2 Langford and Shanas also found that old people in distress turned in the first place to their children a n d relatives.3 T h e aged look to their children for help above all in matters connected with a close personal relationship, such as bodily care a n d also the giving of advice. There w a s less question of financial support, since this w a s expected rather from government a n d welfare agencies.
There is s o m e evidence that parent-child relations are not fully reciprocal in the phase w e are discussing, inasmuch as aged parents seem m o r e attached to their children than vice versa. T h u s , old people are inclined to speak of their children as their 'family', whereas the children are m o r e likely to refer to their parents as 'relatives'. Moreover, old people, far m o r e frequently than younger ones, consider that they see too little of their family.4 Yet the children's feeling of moral obligation seems in general sufficiently strong to offset this emotional disparity. B y a very interesting method Ethel Shanas has s h o w n that, o n the whole, children appear as willing to meet parental d e m a n d s o n their time or resources as their aged parents consider it fit to m a k e such d e m a n d s . This study sought the views of older people, of the persons they would turn to in a health crisis (usually their children or daughters-in-law) a n d of a cross-section of the public, with regard to various aspects of family responsibility, by exploring their decisions in a series of hypothetical situations. In a problem involving a decision o n financial aid to a n aged parent, for example, 42 per cent of the younger generation thought that he should first turn to his children; but only 30 per cent of the old people were ofthat opinion. 5 In another hypothetical case the problem w a s whether a n old lady needing to b e looked after should m o v e in to live with her daughter in spite of certain material difficulties; the proportion of those in favour of such a solution w a s approximately the s a m e a m o n g old people (44 per cent), those looking after t h e m 1. L . Rosenmayr and E . Kckeis, Umwelt und Familie . . . , op. cit. 2. O . Blume, Alte Menschen . . . , op. cit. (see note 2 to table 1), p . 40. 3. M . Langford, Community Aspects . . . , op. cit., p. 16; E . Shanas, The Health of Older People, op. cit., p. m et seq. 4. Paul J. Reiss, 'The extended kinship system: correlations of and attitudes on frequency of interaction', in: Marriage and Family Living, vol. 24, no. 4 , 1962, P- 3375. E , Shanas, The Health of Older People, op. cit., p . 135.
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(46 per cent) and a cross-section of the population in general (46 per cent). 1 In general, however, it is evident that, contrary to conceptions hitherto prevalent at least a m o n g European social reformers, joint living is not the most important factor in the relations between old people a n d their g r o w n u p children a n d that, even without it, there can be m a n y practical d e m o n strations of mutual goodwill. All data w h i c h have so far c o m e to light prove beyond doubt that the family relations of older people can continue to exist and be operative even w h e n they are not living with their kinsfolk. A n d m a n y surveys, including our o w n , also reveal that joint living is only readily accepted in cases where circumstances necessitate it a n d that, in general, it is by no means regarded as desirable. Although, before the results of empirical research b e c a m e available, it w a s often believed that old people lived separately from their children only w h e n they were obliged to d o soowing either to unwillingness o n the part of the younger generation, or to the fact that h o m e s were too small. Yet, wherever such a question w a s put, in the most widely differing countries, only a small proportion of the aged preferred intergenerational joint living. In Bethnal Green, L o n d o n , despite particularly close family relations, only 10 per cent of those interviewed were in favour of it;2 Glenn Beyer's figure w a s 17 per cent, 3 Shanas' 8 per cent, 4 while in Cologne the proportion was 27 per cent5 and, in Vienna, 29 per cent. This apparent variation does not, however, necessarily point to national differences; it is m o r e likely d u e to the fact that the questions were not formulated in the s a m e w a y . If the question is put impersonally (Cologne a n d Vienna), there is m o r e support for joint livingas w e a n d B l u m e 6 have shownthan w h e n people are asked to express their o w n personal preference. There is obviously a certain discrepancy between the general view and personal preferences; old people are m o r e inclined to say that intergenerational joint living is, in general, a good thing, than to express a preference for that arrangement for themselves. In the course of an inquiry conducted b y Friedeburg a n d Weltz a m o n g the m e d i u m age groups (male workers a n d employees between the ages of 21 a n d 6 5 , throughout Western G e r m a n y ) , approximately the s a m e proportion as a m o n g the aged, i.e. 11 per cent, favoured intergenerational joint living in general, while 2 0 per cent contemplated such a n arrangement for their o w n old age. 7 H e r e again, therefore, w e see that the attitudes of the
1. E . Shanas, The Health of Older People, op. cit., p . 121. 2. P. Townsend, The Family Life of Old People, op. cit., p. 26. 3. Glenn H . Beyer, 'Living arrangements, attitudes and preferences of older persons', Report to the th World Congress of Gerontology, N e w York, i960 (mimeogr.),
p. 11 and 25.
4. 5. 6. 7.
E . Shanas, The Health of Older People, op. cit., p . 103. O . Blume, Alte Menschen . . . , op. cit., p . 83. O . Blume, Alte Menschen . . . , op. cit., cf. p . 64 and p . 83. Ludwig von Friedeburg and Friedrich Weltz, Altersbild und Altersvorsorge de Arbeiter und Angestellten, Frankfurt a m Main, 1958, p. 32 and 76.
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younger age groups are, to a large extent, the s a m e as those of the old people themselves. T h e low frequency of joint living does not appear to b e d u e merely to the younger generation's refusal to co-operate but rather to the attitude of the old people themselves, few of w h o m are in favour of living with their childrenindeed far fewer than those w h o in fact d o so. A s to the factors which m a k e joint living m o r e c o m m o n or a d d to the desire for it, there are also already s o m e results available. T h e smaller the c o m m u n i t y a n d the less industrialized the area, the m o r e d o w e findat at least in G e r m a n y , a n d probably also in Austriajoint living,1 a n d m o r e preference expressed for it.2 In our opinion this is a clear indication that joint living is upheld m o r e steadfastly w h e r e the family still constitutes a unit of production, or w h e r e at least such a reference pattern is still avai^ able; households comprising three or even m o r e generations are particularly c o m m o n a m o n g peasant families.3 It is important, for our theoretical deductions, to note that old people without a spouse not only live m o r e frequently with their children but also are m o r e in favour of this arrangement than those w h o are still married. T h u s , according, e.g., to Shanas' data, almost half of the w i d o w e d (or separated) old mothers a n d fathers live under the s a m e roof as their children, whereas only a quarter of the married couples d o so. 4 B l u m e discovered similar differences in Cologne. 6 Both surveys also prove that old people are far more anxious to live with their children after they have lost their spouses:6 in Cologne, 77 per cent of the non-married old people w e r e h a p p y to g o o n living with their children, whereas only 2 9 per cent of the married couples wished to d o so. In the case of aged parents living apart from their children, 17 per cent of those w i d o w e d , but only 6 per cent of the married ones, wished to join the younger generation. W i t h increasing age, old people also tend m o r e a n d m o r e to prefer joint living. N o positive correlation appears, h o w e v e r , to exist between joint living a n d family adjustment. F r o m the studies conducted b y Friedeburg a n d W e l t z , it emerged that respondents with a strong family orientation w e r e just as m u c h against joint living as those w h o s e families w e r e less important to t h e m . 7 Tartler submitted data showing that a larger proportion (80 per cent) of old people living alone or with their spouses only were o n affectionate, good terms with their offspring than those w h o shared the h o m e with their children or grandchildren (61 per cent with good family
i. Rudolf Tartler, Das Alter in der modernen Gesellschaft, Stuttgart, 1961, p . 42. 2. L . v. Friedeburg and F . Weltz, Altersbild . . . , op. cit., p . 36 et seq. 3. Gerhard Baumert, 'Changes in the family and in the position of older persons in Germany'; International Journal of Comparative Sociology, vol. I, no. 2 , i960,
p. 207.
4. E . Shanas, The Health of Older People, op. cit., p . 96. 5. O . Blume, Alte Menschen, op. cit., p . 21. 6. Shanas, The Health of Older People, op. cit., p . 104; O . Blume, Alte Menschen . . . , op. cit., p . 64; cf. also G . H . Beyer, 'Living arrangements, attitudes and preferences of older persons', loe. cit., p . 25. 7. L . v. Friedeburg and F . Weltz, Altersbild . . . , op. cit., p . 36.
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relations).1 In m a n y cases joint living does not seem to promote good relations with the younger generation.
'INTIMACY A T A DISTANCE'
T h e foregoing data already contain some hints as to why old people are against living with their grown-up children, although, as w e mentioned earlier, help from the children is very often given and gladly accepted, and contacts with them are more frequent than with any other circles. Thus, relations with their o w n children are obviously particularly important to the aged, and seeing them is considered as one of the greatest joys.2 W h e n asked (by means of a check-list) which persons or services they feel too far away from, the majority of old people will n a m e their children and relatives, rather than other persons or services such as stores or transportation.3 The great practical and emotional significance of family relationsbut at the same time old people's desire to keep at some distancebecame obvious to us as early as 1957, from the initial phase of our gerontological studies in Vienna. 4 This atfirstappeared paradoxical, but it soon became clear that precisely this wish to maintain some distance but not to be isolated w a s to be regarded as a typical attitude a m o n g the aged. T h e preference for a certain a m o u n t of segregation holds not only in the area of family relations, it can also be observed in the attitude of old people towards their local social environment. W e have s h o w n in detail that aged persons appreciate arrangements (e.g., of gardens a n d green spaces) w h e r e they are s o m e w h a t protected a n d withdrawn from their surroundings, but at the s a m e time are able to take part in, or at least watch, w h a t is going o n . 6 T h e y w a n t social contacts, but resent interference. It is a general attitude, which w e characterized b y the formula: 'Intimacybut at a distance' and which m a n y other research workersand J. H . Sheldonfirstof allhave described in similar terms. 6 This concept also led to a m o r e adequate formulation of the question concerning the type of living arrangements desired, which has n o w fully
1. R . Tartler, Das Alter in der modernen Gesellschaft, op. cit., p. 65. a. L . Rosenmayr and E . Kckeis, Umwelt und Familie . . . , op. cit.; M . Langford, Community Aspects . . . , op. cit., p. 19. 3. L . Rosenmayr and E . Kckeis, Umwelt und Familie . . . , op. cit.; G . H . Beyer, 'Living arrangements, attitudes . . .' , loc. cit., p. 9 and ai. 4. Alte Menschen in der Grotadt, Vienna, Social Science Research Centre of the University of Vienna, 1958 (mimeogr.), p. 58 et seq. 5. Cf., for example, L . Rosenmayr and E . Kckeis, 'Family relations and social contacts of the aged in Vienna', in: C . Tibbitts et al. (eds.), Ageing Around the World, vol. I, N e w York, 1962. Similarly: Cornell University Housing Research Center, Housing Requirements of the Aged, a Study of Design Criteria, N e w York, i960, p. 55. 6. Cf. Eva Kckeis, 'Review of R . Tartler's book Das Alter in der modernen Gesellschaft', Klner Ztschr.f. Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, vol. 14, no. 4, 1962, p. 794.
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cleared u p the apparent paradox. It w a s proved, not only b y us in a later stage of our investigations, but also b y Glenn Beyer, that old people rarely wish to live with their children, but a substantial proportion of t h e m (48 per cent in Vienna a n d 50 per cent in the United States) consider that the most satisfactory arrangement is to have their own home in the vicinity of their children.1 T h e y d o not w a n t to live with their children, but are glad to live near them. T h e y attach great importance to their family relations, but there is a marked desire to keep a certain distance between themselves a n d others, even their o w n children. T h e empirical data, so strikingly parallel, which w e have here sought to outline, m a k e it possible not only to set forth coherent generalities but, in addition, to use the latter as a basis for building u p a theory.
DESOCIALIZATION
In examining points of departure for theory-formation, the notion of desocialization should be considered. R e n K n i g has suggested the concept of 'desocialization' for the social a n d psychological changes occurring in old age. Thisidea is indeed an attractive one for it conceives of a process of detachm e n t as a counterpart to the process of the education a n d training of children a n d adolescents for full participation in society. Y e t it seems doubtful whether ageing m a y be seen as a general process of detachment from social relations. W e have to envisage at least that this process is m u c h less uniform than the socialization of children and adolescents a n d that its pattern varies considerably in accord with m a n y m o r e sociological a n d psychological variables. Therefore, if one wishes to uphold the concept of desocialization, as a formal counterpart to socialization, then it is essential to realize w h a t the limits ofthat concept are. Desocialization m a y b e m o r e readily assumed in relations connected with professional activityand in this area disengagement theories have their best justification (see below p . 422). A restriction of m a n y , a n d not merely physical, activities certainly also takes place. But the concept of desocialization is hardly acceptable in regard to the family, since the frequency of contacts a n d especially the subjective importance of relations with the family of procreation need not necessarily decline in old age. U n d e r certain conditions family relations m a y even be re-actualized in that last stage of the life cycle, a n d m a y reach a certain climax after the death of the marriage partner, or under conditions of strain, illness and economic stress. W e should n o w turn to the reasons for intergenerational cohesion. A s w e have already mentioned in another context, for s o m e important decisions affecting the organization of family life, the parents' opinion carries
1. L . Rosenmayr and E . Kckeis, 'Sozialbeziehungen im hheren Lebensalter', loe. cit., p . 219 et seq.; G . H . Beyer, 'Living arrangements, attitudes . . . ' , loc.
cit.,
p. 11 and 25.
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considerable weight with the younger generation.1 Emotional ties between parents and children have at least t w o results: they form the basis for the transmission and acceptance of values a n d they generate a certain indebtedness o n the part of the children w h e n they grow u p . T h e modelling of the children's behaviour o n that of their parents m a y be explained by an introjection2 of the parents' personalities a n d by an identification with them; the indebtedness m a y also be considered as a result of this identification. A n y w a y , as a rule the emotional ties, stemming from childhood, never quite cease to exist. Although they m a y have been inactive, not manifest in a social function, owing to, e.g., local separation, difference in occupational activities, etc., they can be revived a n d can take o n great functional importance. T h e connexions ave becoming apparent here between gerontological research and research o n the family; indeed an overlapping of these two disciplines appears to us not as a regrettable disturbance of the internal pattern of scientific research, but as the fruitful and inevitable consequence of a suitable approach to the subject.3 F r o m our studies of intergenerational relations of the aged, the family appearscontrary to the theoretical propositions of Parsons and Balesas a little society,4 as a very unit, which, at any given time, m a y become m o r e united or tend to disintegrate.
T h e r e is hardly any subject that family sociologists have been m o r e concerned with than thatof the disintegration of the family. Impressed by the fact that, as a result of industrialization a n d urban development, the father's place of work was separated from the familythe family ceasing, o n a wide scale, to be society's m a i n production unitsociologists in the second half of the last century were already discussing the disintegration of the family as a social institution. T h e notion that functional detachment (education a n d vocational training outside the family, absence from h o m e for a large part of the day, participation and emotional engagement in various movements a n d political groups) must necessarily entail the disintegration of the family has proved untenable in the light of recent research. This notion was born of an
1. L . Rosenmayr, Der Wiener Geburtenrckgang im Lichte soziologischer Forsch International Demographic Congress, Vienna, 1959. 2 . Adoption and transposition into the child's o w n consciousness of the behaviour patterns and characteristics observed in his parents during childhood and preservation of these as an authority working independently on his o w n behaviour. 3. Closely associated with the theme of old people and the family, there is of course the problem, of particular importance to social work, of the isolated aged, which w e have thoroughly discussed in our book Umwelt und Familie alter Menschen but shall not dwell upon here. 4 . T . Parsons and R . F . Bales, Family, Socialization and Interaction Process, Glenc ui-> 1955, p- 19420
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intellectual pessimism caused b y the overwhelming effects of sweeping social changes. F r o m several studies o n the role of w o m e n , 1 w e have been able to establish that w h e n a wife goes out to w o r k , her functional detachment from the family is not usually a n d not necessarily accompanied b y any signs of disintegration of the family. According to our findings, occupational activity for the sake of the family a n d for the sake of ensuring a certain average standard of living for the family, is the most frequent a n d predominant motive a m o n g working wives; 2 the motive of occupational activity to satisfy their o w n special requirements, such as professional interest or personal luxuries, constituted only a secondary type found m u c h less frequently. T h u s , our data have not verified the notion of a disintegration of the family through the e m p l o y m e n t of wives a n d mothers outside the h o m e . 3 In another research field alsothat of the sociology of y o u t h w e found that the functional detachment of adolescent youth from their parents (a detachment d u e to their work, to contacts with friends a n d inform a l groups, but particularly to a great m a n y leisure activities outside the h o m e ) is compatible with a profound emotional attachment to their parents a n d the stability of the familial configuration.4 These results from areas of research not dealing with old age are in s o m e respects comparable to the findings, w h i c h w e have described earlier, n a m e l y the detachment of old people from their family. Despite the splitting u p of the household, intergenerational emotional relations are maintained in the majority of families. Certain elements of functional separation also in the gerontological area of social relations g o along with emotional cohesion. In order to m a k e the analogy still stronger, w e m a y refer to data which bear out the 'efficiency' a n d practical value of emotional relations. Research has revealed that emotional ties are strong enough to overcome functional detachment. It w o u l d therefore b e a mistake to think that the splitting u p of a household leads to a n irrevocable breach between the generations. O n the contrary, w e should speak of a revocable detachment. Particularly in the case of illness a n d need for care a n d nursing, contacts are frequently strengthened a n d often lead to the re-establishment of a single household. 5 T h e r e is a considerable tendency for aged parents to g o i. See: L . Rosenmayr, 'Values and roles in Viennese family life: some research examples to demonstrate the inner connexion between "pure" and "applied" research', 4th World Congress of Sociology, Milan-Stresa 1959; 'Role and role-image of the Austrian w o m a n ' , in: 'Images of w o m e n in society', International Social Science Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, 1962. 2. L . Rosenmayr, 'Role and role-image of the Austrian w o m a n ' , loc. cit., p . 161 et seq. 3. This is undoubtedly an extraordinarily difficult problem which must be regarded also from the angle of divorce and fertility statistics. With regard to the latter, however, w e found in Vienna, by studying a number of age groups, that there was no connexion between the quota of wives going out to work and their fertility rate. 4. L . Rosenmayr, Familienbeziehungen und Freizeitgewohnheiten jugendlicher Arbeiter, Vienna 1963; see the English summary. 5. E . Shanas, The Health of Older People, op. cit., p . ' n 6 et seq.
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to live with their children after the death of their spouse, as joint living is far more c o m m o n a m o n g the widowed than a m o n g married old people. There is an interesting companion phenomenon to this tendency: divorced younger w o m e n were so often found to live in their parents' household1 that w e m a y consider the return of daughters to their family of origin w h e n their marriage has broken u p as a fairly general pattern. Both these phenomenathe return of the parents to their children, and the return of the children to the parents' h o m e in the event of widowhood or divorcepoint to the great importance of intergenerational cohesion, which, u p to fifteen years ago, was generally contested by sociologists. O u r conception of the revocability of detachment and of the possibility of the re-establishment of a joint household owing to the persistence of close and affectionate family relations is not at variance with a disengagement theory, such as that put forward by Elaine G u m m i n g . 2 For, at the beginning of our theoretical propositions in this paper and in our study Umwelt und Familie alter Menschen, w e referred to a restriction of the radius of m o v e ment and activity. Furthermore, w e have observed, in addition to such factual restrictions, a desire to keep at a certain distance. This desire w a s expressed by the aged in their attitudes towards the surroundings of their homes and partly also towards their social environment. It led us to devise the general formula which w e constantly use to describe the social relations of old people, n a m e l y : intimacy at a distance. But, apart from the revocability of detachment, w e should also like to mention s o m e factors w h i c h are apt to prevent detachment altogether. W h e n the m o t h e r of a ' y o u n g family' goes out to w o r k , a joint household with her parents or parents-in-law is m o r e likely to b e maintained than w h e n the m o t h e r has n o outside job. 3 It has also been s h o w n that even u n d e r separate living arrangements the services of the grandmother as familyhelp or even mother-substitute are frequently enlisted;4 the grandfather, too, m a y serve as a baby-sitter. T h u s , definite social functions of the elderly within the multigenerational family are maintained a n d m a y even h a v e b e c o m e m o r e widespread with the increase in the proportion of working wives a n d mothers. 6 S u c h a system of intergenerational assistance seems to provide the most satisfactory solution for the family problems arising from i. O u r micro-census showed that of Viennese w o m e n between 30 and 50 years of age, w h o were separated from their husbands or widowed, 27 per cent lived with their parents (or one of their parents), whereas only 8 per cent of the married ones did so. 2. Cf., in particular, Elaine C u m m i n g and William E . Henry, Growing Old, N e w York, 1961. 3. According to our micro-census, the proportion of working mothers in Vienna is 58 per cent when the grandmother lives with them, but only 47 per cent w h e n this is not the case. Cf. also Elisabeth Pfeil, Die Berufsttigkeit von Mttern, op. cit., P- 3334 . Elisabeth Pfeil, Die Berufsttigkeit von Mttern, op. cit., p . 327 et seq. 5. Cf. M . F . NimkofF, 'Changing family relationship of older people in the United States during the lastfiftyyears', in : Clark Tibbitts and W i l m a D o n a h u e (eds.), Sociological and Psychological Aspects of Aging, N e w York and London,
1962, p. 411.
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extra-familial work of the mother. Thus, precisely because of the high quota of Viennese wives and mothers participating in the labour force1 w e would assume that the multigenerational family system (not necessarily including joint living) is fairly stable and will .continue in almost all social strata.2 This brings us to the question whether the process of detachment from the family a m o n g old people differs from o n e layer of society to another. T h e first data emerging from our above-mentioned 'micro-census' 3 show thatalthough the differences are slightintergenerational joint living occurs m o r e frequently a m o n g the middle-class.4 Whilst, in upper-class families, financial conditions a n d a high living standard lend themselves rather to the establishment of separate households the tradition of family continuity appears to be stronger a m o n g the middle-class. T h e highest quota of joint households w a s found a m o n g the self-employed,5 a m o n g w h o m craftsmen and small tradesmen play a n important part. W e w a y well assume that intergenerational joint enterprises in trade or c o m m e r c e have an influence o n living arrangements; considerations of property and inheritance m a y also have an effect.6
T h e discovery of theflexibilityof intergenerational relations calls for the formulation of a general concept of the family going beyond the idea that the family constitutes a system of interrelated roles. Since R . Dahrendorf's attempt to establish scientific sociology as a theoretical role system,7 it seems to us to be particularly necessary to point to certain limitations of the role-concept. T h e notions of role a n d function d o not m a k e allowance for the fact that relations can be revived a n d activated not even the concept of 'latent function'.8 Roles m a y or m a y not exist, i. See L . Rosenmayr, 'Role and Role-image of the Austrian w o m a n ' , loc. cit., p. 160 et seq. 2. The stability of intergenerational ties in the Kibbutzim is described by Y . Talmon Garber, Ageing in a Planned Society, vol. 67, no. 3, 1961, p . 286-95. 3. See note 3, p. 410. 4. Our status scheme was defined roughly as follows: lower class: workers, employees without secondary education (72 per cent) ; middle class: medium range of employees, small business (22 per cent); upper class: managerial and professional occupations, big business (6 per cent). 5. Statistics illustrating these and some of the other generalizations or theoretical propositions are to be found in L . Rosenmayr, E . Kckeis and A . Kaufmann, 'Intergenerational relations in the course of the life cycle', Report to the 6th World Congress of Gerontology, Copenhagen, 1963. 6. Cf. our remark about peasant families, p. 14. 7. Ralf Dahrendorf, Homo Sociolgicas, Cologne and Opladen, 1961, see particularly p. 41, 51 and 61. 8. Robert K . Merton, who uses this term, does not define it as a dormant function capable of being resuscitatedwhich might have served our purposebut as a function which is 'neither intended nor recognized'. See: Social Theory and Social Structure, revised and enlarged edition, Glencoe, 111., 1957, p. 51. 423
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relations, however, vary greatly in their degrees of manifestness. T h e concept of role does not cope with the dynamic nature of interpersonal relations. It therefore seems m o r e appropriate to explain contacts a n d social ties within the family in terms of the concept of relationship rather than that of role without excluding the latter for defining certain aspects of the same social reality. Interpersonal relations have to b e viewed in terms of the various synthesizing tasks of the personality: vis--vis its ideals, its biological appetites and the social environment. T h e continuous challenge to integrate ego ideals, biological needs a n d the pressures of social reality, results in a process of'adjustment' which oscillates on a scale from integration to separation. T h e concept of social relationship2 can include a n emotional relation, irrespective of whether or not it has crystallized into a role; and a relation which has a clearly defined role aspect m a y be included. T h e concept of role, however, cannot include emotional relations which have little to d o with function, or result only sporadically in definite functions, although they m a y be strong (and dating back to earlier phases of the life cycle).
W e have just emphasized that, in order to understand social relations, w e must also, as sociologists, consider certain socio-psychologically important personality variables. T h e following point m a y illustrate this briefly. In maintaining intergenerational relations, womenmothers and daughters alikeplay a far m o r e important part than the male m e m b e r s of the family. In our study o n the family relations of adolescent workers, 3 w e found that it was the mother w h o w a s the functional a n d emotional centre of the nuclear family. Y o u n g married couples live far m o r e often with, or near, the wife's parents than those of the husband. 4 O l d people turn for help twice as often to their daughters as to their sons,6 just as they see their daughters daily in twice as m a n y cases as they see their sons. 6 In their investigations in Bethnal Green, Y o u n g a n d Wilmott 7 have sought to explain the particularly close ties which they observed between
i. Cf. E . Erikson, 'Identity and the life cycle', Psychological Issues, vol. I, no. I, !959> P- H 9 2. O u r concept of relationship is not identical with that put forward by Leopold von Wiese in his Beziehungslehre, 1924. 3. L . Rosenmayr, Familienbeziehungen und Freizeitgewohnheiten jugendlicher Arb Vienna, 1963. 4. P . Townsend, The Family Life of Old People, op. cit., p. 331; Charles Vereker and John Barron Mays, Urban Redevelopment and Social Change, Liverpool 1961, p. 82 and 90. 5. E . Shanas, The Health of Older People, p . i n . 6. Michael Young and Hildred Geertz, 'Old age in London and San Francisco: some families compared', in: British Journal of Sociology, vol. 12, no. 1, 1961,
p. 131.
7. Michael Young and Peter Wilmott, Family and Kinship in East London, London, 1957, P- 187424
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mothers and adult daughters in working-class families by saying that mothers and daughters understand each other so well because their working day consists of identical tasks and therefore have so m u c h in c o m m o n that they confide to each other easily and quickly. Although the factor of parallel tasks should certainly not be disregarded, yet this explanation seems again rooted in the inadequate premises of role theory. This is not the appropriate place to deal with the special form of mother attachment, as it exists in adult w o m e n . But w e consider it necessary to point out that this mother attachment must stem from spheres of relationships which date back to childhood and have thus been established before there was any question of work. This attachment must be emotionally deeper and more general than any formed through c o m m o n practical problems or tasks in later everyday life. W e maintain that the durability and operativeness of the motherdaughter relationship, with the accompanying friction coefficient, can only be maintained on the basis of a firm emotional synchronization. Even the preparation for a role in society requires role-images, and such images can only be internalized on the basis of lasting emotional ties. Sociological theory calls for the complementary use of the notions of'relation' and 'role'.
Hitherto, w e have always concerned ourselves with family relations and their implications for old people, or else with the latter's detachment from and subsequent re-attachment to the family. But w e consider this primarily as afirststep towards an attempt to arrive at a sociological understanding of old age. It is evident that functional detachment, or the separation of generations, begins at a point in the life-cycle which, in gerontological terms, can be described as early. According to our investigations in Vienna, this separation occurs at the age of about 50 and w e can either speak of an initial phase of old age, starting with this break in the life of the family, or define it as a special intermediary stage of the life cycle during which the distance between parents and children is greatest and which, as w e have shown above, ends, in a substantial n u m b e r of cases (about a quarter of the people over 70 in Vienna), with a reunion of the household. T h e highest percentage of 'independent' households of elderly people is to be observed in the age bracket of 50 to 60 years. A m o n g older people, the n u m b e r of joint households increases again, obviously in m a n y cases because the parents rejoin their children.
W e believe that through these reflections and results the social sciences, too, can envisage going beyond a definition of old age based purely on the 425
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n u m b e r of years, that is on chronological age. For the non-self employed the vast majority of manual and office workersthe age of retirement is prescribed by social security regulations, etc., and this sociologically decisive m o m e n t , w h e n people give u p working and withdraw from the accustomed environment of their place of work, is usually fixed at 60 years of age for w o m e n , and at 65 for m e n . Study of the family sphere shows us, however, that breaks occur before the beginning of that stage of the life-cycle on which gerontologists have hitherto concentrated, owing to the above-mentioned retirement age. It remains to be seen h o w w e should interpret this sociological threshold, observed in the private sphere.1 There is also the question whether w e ought to distinguish between afirstand a second phase of ageing and what criteria are to be established for their demarcation. W e would suggest most strongly that household and family criteria should at least partly be used. W e shall not attempt as yet to translate this idea into concrete terms. Moreover, demarcation schemes might vary with the purposes they are set u p for. But one thing w e can establish already: just as geriatricians have been working, for some time n o w , o n the basis of a biological, as opposed to a purely chronological, concept of old age, so w e can n o w try to arrive at a sociological concept of old age. A t all events, by considering professional relations on the one hand, and household and family relations on the other, w e can already define fairly well where a person stands in the sociological process of ageing, and this should be a considerable improvement o n the method employed hitherto of combining medical and economic data to define the characteristics of old people. Sociological perception can thus provide a basis for assessment which, combined with psychological, biological and medical contributions, should greatly add to future advancement of knowledge in gerontology.
1. Cf. also W a y n e E . Thompson and Gordon F. Streib, 'Meaningful activity in a family context', in: Robert W . Kleemeier (ed.), Aging and Leisure, N e w York, 1961, and particularly the chapter im 'The Life-Cycle of the family through the later years', p. 183 et seq. 426
THE ARGUMENT FOR GRADUALLY ABANDONING COMMUNAL HOMES FOR THE AGED
PETER TOWNSEND
A ' H o m e ' for old people is usually understood to be an establishment in which a n u m b e r of unrelated people w h o do not require continuous medical and nursing care sit d o w n to meals together, share other facilitiessuch as sitting and sleeping accommodation, bathrooms and W C s a n d obtain certain personal as well as household services from a paid domestic and attendant staff. These personal services often include assistance in dressing and walking and also include occasional nursing, for one or more qualified nurses are usually attached to the staff, or, if not, the 'matron' in charge is herself a trained nurse. Although such establishments existed m a n y years ago in different countries, it is only since the war that they have been separately identified from hospitals and nursing H o m e s as a major instrument of social policy. T h e word ' H o m e ' appears to be something of a euphemism, however, and any examination of the real functions of the establishments suggests they provide a n uneasy compromise between private domestic comforts and public care and supervision in a n institutional environment. W e would do well to examine their functions closely before too m a n y are built in the coming years. It is the purpose of this paper to show that there are strong grounds for treating such H o m e s largely as a temporary expedient in the development of policy for the aged in industrial societies which are becoming increasingly prosperous. At the start it is worth emphasizing that the old people's H o m e is not the only institution about which uncertainties are expressed at present. In all Western societies there are long-stay institutions of different kinds psychiatric and chronic sick hospitals, nursing H o m e s , hostels for the mentally subnormal, and residential institutions and H o m e s for children and the handicapped as well as for the aged. Are they going to be needed in the next century or should w e quickly abandon them and seek alternative ways of caring for the kind of people they accommodate at present? C a n the long-term mental hospital be supplanted, in time, by a continuation of (a) psychiatric wards in general hospitals, (b) out-patient and day units, and (c) care given by psychiatric social workers in the community? C a n the the children's H o m e be supplanted by a combination of (a) more use of foster parents and (b) placing more house-mothers and house-fathers in charge of quasi-families in ordinary houses? Fifty, even ten, years ago these
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questions might have seemed absurdly impractical. T o d a y I a m not so sure. T h e y are uncomfortably real, particularly to those whose w o r k brings t h e m into contact with the patients or residents of such institutions. For m y part I believe that these questions are as big as a n y that can be asked about social policy. U p o n them turns the whole future development of health a n d welfare services. In Britain and other countries during the early part of the nineteenth century the principal instrument of social care was the mixed institution for people of both sexes a n d all ages. T h e sick were mingled with the infirm aged, orphaned children a n d unmarried mothers. T h e evolution of m e d i cine a n d the primitive experiments which were undertaken in children's and other social w o r k services gradually supplied a basis for a classified system of institutions. Sharper distinctions were m a d e between different conditions a n d needs. In Britain three m a i n groups of hospitals evolved general, mental and chronicbut m a n y special hospitals were also openedfor children, for w o m e n and for those suffering from tuberculosis and fevers, for example. Similarly, the n u m b e r of different types of residential, convalescent a n d nursing H o m e s also multiplied, s o m e of t h e m for persons of a particular age or sex. In theory, each type of institution served a distinct segment of the population a n d had the purpose of treating a specific a n d clearly identifiable need which, it w a s supposed, could not be met in the ordinary community. In s o m e respects the trend in favour of specialized units has continued since the war. In most countries, so far as I a m aware, the n u m b e r of different kinds of institutions a n d H o m e s for old people, for example, has grown. S o m e authorities would carry this even further. T h e clinical a n d administrative arguments are strong, because specialists and trained personnel are scarce and equipment is expensive. Consultants d o not have to waste time travelling to see their patients. It is also conceptually neater for fundraising organizations w h o have to devise advertisements for the radio and press. But opposing arguments have c o m e to the fore, which throw doubt on the whole case for having, say, special hospitals for the chronic sick, special H o m e s for the blind or for spastics a n d special institutions for m e n tally subnormal girls or boys. M o d e r n society is faced with a fundamental d i l e m m a . Put simply, it is torn between the desire to segregate persons for treatment according to their physical a n d social condition a n d the desire to give t h e m the advantages of living in a 'normal' c o m m u n i t y . I a m going to attempt to disentangle s o m e of the strands in the argum e n t for gradually replacing m a n y long-stay institutions with alternative accommodation a n d services. Necessarily I must lean o n British experience, though I believe it to be similar, in m a n y important respects, to that of other countries. I a m also going to depend, for m u c h of m y evidence, on a national survey of old people's H o m e s recently carried out in England and Wales. 1
i. P . Townsend, The Last Refuge: A Survey of Residential Institutions and Homes for th Aged in England and Wales, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962. 428
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This was a project undertaken by a small research team from London University during the four years 1957-61, and financed by the Nuffield Foundation. Nearly 200 old people's H o m e s were visited and information collected, by means of interviews, from hundreds of local administrators, wardens, matrons and nurses and elderly residents.
In England and Wales there are rather less than 150,000 persons of pensionable age, or about 2 per cent of the population of this age, in mental and other hospitals and nursing H o m e s . There are a further 100,000 persons of pensionable age, representing another i per cent, in residential institutions and H o m e s . About a third of them live in H o m e s owned and managed by religious and voluntary associations or by private individuals. T h e rest live in H o m e s managed by the local authoritiesin this instance county and county borough councils. T h e government exercises general control over the policies of the councils through the Ministry of Health. At the end of the last war the Labour Government had attempted to remove thefinaltraces of the Poor L a w . S o m e of the old institutions were re-classified as hospitals under the National Health Service. Others remained with the local authorities and formed the basis of a n e w residential service for the aged and handicapped w h o were, in the words of the legislation, 'in need of care and attention'. Speaking of the n e w service in 1947, the Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan, stated that the institution was obsolete and w a s going to be replaced. 'Although m a n y people have tried to humanize it, it was in m a n y respects a very evil institution. . . . Bigness is the enemy of humanity.' H e went on to describe the n e w H o m e s which were to be openedfor a m a x i m u m of 25-30 persons, 'so that any old persons w h o wish to go m a y go there in exactly the same w a y as m a n y wellto-do people have been accustomed to go into residential hotels'. Government spokesmen are often contradicted by events and during the next fifteen years few of the old institutions were in fact pulled d o w n . They s i l provide tl nearly half the accommodation owned b y the local authoritiesmostly in units with 100, 200 or m o r e beds. But since 1948 well over a thousand H o m e s have been converted from large houses or newly built by the local authorities. In the early years emphasis was placed on converted premises with u p to thirty-five beds, whether in urban or rural surroundings. B y the mid-nineteen-fifties the disadvantages of old buildings and remoteness from urban centres came to be recognized and the government recommended n e w buildings with u p to sixty beds, mainly in four- and six-bedded rooms, and preferably sited in urban areas. In the last few years, the emphasis has changed again in favour of smaller H o m e s containing mainly single and double bedrooms. Government policy has therefore followed a chequered course. T h e post-war H o m e s compare favourably with the old institutions and by previous standards are
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comfortable, well furnished and well staffed. Nonetheless, like similar institutions in other countries, they fall short of desirable standards and their function is becoming m o r e a n d more uncertain. Are they intended to be for active but lonely people as well as for incapacitated people? A n d d o they serve loneliness and incapacity well? Are old people better off in such a c o m m u n a l environment rather than in independent flats with social services on call and, say, a small restaurant nearby? Moreover, to give one illustration of the w a y in which these uncertainties affect staff, should the w o m e n in charge of c o m m u n a l H o m e s behave like hospital matrons, hotel manageresses or devoted daughters? There are m a n y questions of this kind which must be asked.
Furnishing evidence so as to answer these questions is not easy. C o m p a r a tively little scientific information about c o m m u n a l H o m e s has so far been collected a n d published. In order to assess their functions a n d decide their future place in social policy it is necessary to explore the following major subjects: i. Reasons for admission. T h e physical, psychological a n d social factors bringing about the admission of people to H o m e s . 2. The quality of the domiciliary welfare services. T h e extent to which people admitted to H o m e s d o in fact receive help from public a n d voluntary welfare services, and from private agencies before their admission (and after their discharge); the general nature and scale of such services. 3. The quality of the domiciliary health services. T h e extent to which people admitted to H o m e s d o in fact receive medical and nursing care, publicly and privately, before their admission (and after their discharge); the general nature and scale of such services. 4 . The quality of facilities and services available in institutions and Homes. extent to which defined standards of physical convenience and comfort (numbers of W C s , baths, handbasins, different kinds of furnishings, cubic space and square feet per bed, etc.) are reached in different types of H o m e s ; staffing ratios in relation to degrees of handicap in institutional populations; level of medical, nursing a n d attendant services and h o w they compare, in quality and frequency, with similar services available at h o m e .
5. The degree of incapacity for self-care among the residents. Assessments of mobi ity and incapacity, using independent measures and indexes as well as rating scales applied by staff (including medical and psychiatric staff). 6. The sociology of the institution. Relationships a m o n g residents, staff, and between residents and staff; relationships between residents and families and friends; evaluation of degree to which the institutional population corresponds with an ordinary community. 7. The question of institutionalization. Changes in the physical, psychological 430
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a n d social condition of persons after admission; nutritional level, appearance, d e m e a n o u r , participation in c o m m u n a l activities a n d so o n ; h o w far such changes might be attributable to institutional environment a n d regime. 8. The general attitudes of elderly residents to communal living. Attitudes towards privacy, material comfort, occupation, independence a n d dependence, companionship, friendship, family, staff, a n d loss of h o m e . These appear to b e the eight m a i n subdivisions for investigation. It m a y b e worth summarizing s o m e of the results of the English survey in a form which closely corresponds with these subdivisions, in order to present a clear enough target for later a n d perhaps m o r e exhaustive research.
First, the survey showed that a large proportion of elderly residents enter communal institutions and Homes mainly because of homelessness and lack of social and financial resources. M o r e than a quarter of a sample of residents newly admitted to H o m e s throughout England a n d Wales h a d lost their h o m e s . M o s t of these were active people. T h e y were evicted or threatened with eviction, were obliged to give u p living with others because the statutory tenant w a s leaving the h o m e or h a d been w a r n e d about overcrowding; were denied access to lodging houses and h a d been sleeping outdoors or in a variety of temporary shelters; or h a d lost their h o m e s during a stay in hospital. M o s t of t h e m were unable to turn to relatives or friends because they h a d n o n e or because they h a d b e c o m e separated from t h e m . O f old people living in residential H o m e s 5g per cent proved to be unmarried or childless. M a n y of these did not have, or had little contact with, brothers a n d sisters a n d other relatives. S o m e of t h e m could not find accommodation near the relatives they had. Little evidence w a s obtained of families being unwilling to help old people, but m u c h evidence of the hardships of those w h o h a d n o descendants, those w h o h a d experienced ,bereavement, a n d those w h o s e only available relative h a d fallen ill or w a s herself or himself infirm. T h e b a d condition of m u c h housing, as well as poverty, h a d also undermined people's ability to maintain independence. Second, the domiciliary welfare and health services are not utilized to the full before admission, nor are they, in all areas, as fully developed for old people generally as they should be. F e w e r than afifthof those admitted from private households h a d been receiving h o m e help, meals a n d other services, beforehand, a n d only a fraction of these people h a d received t h e m frequently during the w e e k . S o m e had not seen their general practitioners in the m o n t h s preceding admission a n d m a n y were lacking in aids for disabilitymodern hearing aids, spectacles, surgical appliances a n d so o n . It is of course arguable that s o m e of them w o u l d have been able to maintain independence for longer with such aids. A g a i n , a considerable v o l u m e of evidence suggested that while domiciliary services for the aged are m u c h m o r e highly developed in
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England than in most other countries they are nonetheless inadequate a n d need to be expanded three-, four- orfive-foldduring the next decade. Third, some services provided in communal Homes are very poor, and many people who are seriously incapacitated, including those with psychiatric diso receive comparatively little skilled attention. T h e physical condition of m a n y institutions w a s found to be b a d a n d toilet and other facilities in these a n d in m a n y of the post-war H o m e s were not satisfactory. Even H o m e s which were newly built often contained shared rather than individual facilities a n d furnishings. There were too few staff and scarcely any h a d received special training. Rarely were there any routine medical inspections. Fewer opportunities of obtaining physiotherapy, psychotherapy a n d other forms of treatment were available to the residents than to hospital patients a n d there was a shortage of aids for disabilities. Staff and residents frequently complained of the uncertain division of responsibility between hospitals a n d residential H o m e s . S o m e old people had experienced several transfers from one to the other.
Fourth, a large proportion of the old people living in communal Homes are able to look after themselves in homes of their own. A sample of several hundred n e w residents was interviewed and information about their capacities was checked with members of the staff and case-records. By using a specially defined measure of incapacity it was found that over half were physically and mentally capable of leading an independent life. They required little or no help. S o m e were complementing the work of the staff, cleaning bedrooms, making beds, and preparing and serving 'meals. Anotherfifthcould live independently if they had considerable assistance but the remaining quarter could do so only if they had a great deal of help every day in the h o m e , for they were extremely frail. W h e n compared with other data, this conclusion was found to apply broadly to the whole population of residential Homes.
Next, entering a Home has certain critical effects upon the behaviour and atti of old people. T h e survey showed that in England old people experienced a loss of occupation. M a n y of t h e m h a d formerly prepared their o w n meals, for example. N o w none of them did so. T h e y were expected to sit and have most things done for them. Occupational therapy w a s successful o n only a minor scale. T h e y experienced isolation from family, friends and c o m m u nity. S o m e were living in H o m e s which were far from urban centres. Others lived a considerable distance from relatives a n d friends. Frequent visits were not feasible. Moreover, such visits as there were tended to dwindle rapidly in n u m b e r . Visitors could rarely be entertained in privacy, or given tea, for example. Neither were they encouraged to do small services for the residents. T h e y were conscious that this would be regarded as interference with staff routine. T h e residents' n e w social relationships were also tenuous. O n l y about one in five had m a d e a friend of another resident. M o s t were reserved in their relationships with residents and also with staff. S o m e were openly hostile and sought solitude on every opportunity. T h e y showed only too plainly that to live under one roof in the c o m p a n y of a large n u m b e r of 432
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people of the same age does not of itself create a community. N o r does it dispel loneliness. Nearly half the n e w residents said they were often or sometimes lonelya m u c h larger fraction than found in surveys of the elderly population at h o m e . Although such feelings could often be attributed to recent bereavement, infirmity or the loss of h o m e and possessions there was some evidence to suggest that they were sometimes reinforced b y the shortcomings of institutional life. T h e y also experienced loss of privacy and identity. M a n y missed not having their o w n clothing, furniture and other possessions. Three-quarters expressed a preference for a single bedroom although only afifthhad one. All these experiences varied in severity from one type of H o m e to another but seemed to exist in s o m e measure everywhere. Finally, the majority of those entering a Home appear not to want to stay permanently in such aplace, although permanent residence is normally assumed to be a condition of admission. O n l y a sixth of the n e w residents entering local authority H o m e s in the English survey h a d applied for admission o n their o w n initiative. O n l y a third said they wished to stay in a residential H o m e , and some of these wished to be in a different one. It is of course extremely difficult to elucidate the true feelings of old persons living in institutions. S o m e are inscrutable. Others seem to think there was n o practicable alternative to entering a H o m e . M a n y are understandably ambivalent in their attitudes. T h e y say h o w contented they are in a H o m e a n d h o w m u c h better off they are than formerly; then they go on to lament the loss of h o m e and friends and say they would do anything to return to where they were again. T h e y m a k e the best they honestly can of conflicting loyalties to their families, to welfare officers, to the staff of the H o m e s a n d to their o w n personal ideals. T h e data did not suggest that such people are generally querulous a nd complaining. S o m e of the residents w h o were interviewed in the course of the research complained strongly about the staff or the facilities of the H o m e but they were a minority and even they often balanced their criticisms with praise. T h e rest were unwilling to m a k e any criticism and, indeed, paid generous tributes to the staff. W h e n m a n y of them went o n nonetheless to say h o w m u c h they wanted to return to a h o m e of their o w n it was difficult to ignore the intensity of this desire for independence.
THE ARGUMENT AGAINST THE COMMUNAL H O M E T h e evidence summarized briefly in this article needs to be elaborated and confirmed. W e possess m u c h too little knowledge about the capacities and opinions as well as the social relationships of institutionalized persons, and the eight areas of investigation which are listed above furnish an immense p r o g r a m m e of research. But in the meantime decisions have to be taken and services for old people maintained by governments, local councils and religious and voluntary associations. T h e latter cannot wait for n e w surveys to be completed.
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Sometimes they work with extremelyflimsyevidence. Research workers m a y serve them better by drawing clear if tentative conclusions from such slim evidence as they possess than by drawing n o conclusions at all. In this instance the immediate steps in the process of generalization seem to be straightforward. Old people's H o m e s could themselves be improved in various ways to provide something more closely resembling the kind of environment and life enjoyed by persons living at h o m e . T h e physical design and facilities, for example, could be better: with single bedrooms, more small lounges, kitchenettes, toilet amenities, workrooms and so o n . They could be smaller in size, with up to twenty-five beds. Staff could be given intensive short courses of training. A n d the residents could be allowed greater freedom of choice in their daily lives. T o give a few examples at random: those w h o take u p residence for more than a few weeks might be allowed to furnish their rooms with as m a n y articles of their o w n furniture as they wish (displacing, if necessary, any publicly-owned furniture in that r o o m ) . T h e y might be given the chance of preparing and cooking the mid-day meal, or of bathing themselves without supervision or assistance. But would reforms such as these be enough? I doubt whether they would. M y argument would proceed from the research conclusions described above to the very nature of specialized long-stay institutions. Individuals from diverse localities and backgrounds are brought together under one roof and are expected to share most of the events of daily life. T h e y are often persons of one sex w h o resemble each other in age and physical or mental condition. Paid staff are there to care for them and a c o m m o n routine is established. T h e resulting 'community' is in m a n y ways a n artificial one. It does not consist of people of both sexes and all ages, linked by overlapping family, occupational and neighbourhood ties, whose relationships are reinforced by the help they can give each other. Their powers of self-expression and self-help are limited. T h e y are not expected, nor are they often allowed, to do m u c h for one another. In a thousand details the matron or superintendent and the staff take over from old people the responsibility for making decisions about everyday life. They are often excessively protective, for example, from a desire to avoid accidents. O r it is quicker and more efficient to d o certain tasks themselves than leave them to the old people. O n c e the process starts it is difficult to stop. It is not therefore surprising to find that most residents yearn for privacy, independence, familiar haunts and some occupation to justify life, even w h e n they appreciate w a r m t h , some degree of comfort, and a good diet. There are other reasons for having misgivings about the future of longstay institutions. Old people tend to suffer not from a single but from a number of physical and psychiatric complaints. Their level of health sometimes improves or deteriorates from week to week. It is difficult to classify them into neat administrative categories. T o insist that w e should is to invite administrative confusion, particularly at a time w h e n the elderly population is growing rapidly, and also to risk some of them not getting skilled medical or psychiatric treatment and supervision w h e n they need it.
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Individuals cannot be transferred ruthlessly from one type of institution to another as their health improves or deteriorates without t h e m paying some price in psychological security. Moreover, professional opinion is moving against the incarceration of certain patients for long periods in institutions and in favour of giving them every possible chance of living in the community. T h e discovery of n e w drugs and methods of surgery, together with m o r e general developments in psychiatry and geriatrics, has to a large extent m a d e this possible. There is n o w m u c h m o r e emphasis o n active treatment a n d rehabilitation, even for long-stay patients. T h e British Ministry of Health n o w assumes that the total population of mental hospitals will decline by m o r e than a third in the nextfifteenyears a n d that, despite the increase in the n u m b e r of old people, there will be n o need for a n increase in the n u m b e r of geriatric beds in hospital.1 In two or three areas chronic sick patients have been placed successfully in housing which has been specially designed a n d equipped. But in all countries there is a long way to g o . Little has yet been done to develop adequate services at h o m e or in the community. This is a great challenge. T h e danger is that the rising costs of hospitalization m a y cause too m a n y patients to be discharged to their o w n h o m e s or to cheaper welfare accommodation before sufficient efforts have been [made to see that they have access to skilled treatment and supervision. T h e argument that it is cheaper to care for persons at h o m e rather than in institutions is often a disreputable one. Usually it amounts to saying, 'It is cheaper to give people practically no services in the h o m e than give t h e m modest services in a state institution'. All this suggests a radical approach to future policy. A t least in densely populated areas it can be argued that all in-patient facilities should be reorganized in truly 'general' hospitals run o n multi-purpose lines.2 These hospitals would exist mainly for people staying for brief periods w h o require surgery and other forms of treatment which cannot be given t h e m in their o w n homes. T h e y would possess larger out-patient departments and would include certain convalescent units, whether medical, psychiatric or geriatric. T h e geriatric units would include provisions for some of the kind of people w h o live today in H o m e s for the agedthose requiring temporary care while they recover from malnutrition, say, those on the borderline of chronic sickness a n d those needing care during the day. Most other types of institutions might be gradually abandoned by creating sheltered housing a n d a m u c h richer variety of h o m e services. Those institutions that remain would have the purpose of assisting individuals through a transition from adversity or dependence to an independent i. Ministry of Health, A Hospital Plan for England and Wales, C m n d . 1604, London,
H M S O , 1962.
2. See, for example, T . M c K e o w n , 'The concept of the balanced hospital c o m m u nity', The Lancet, 5 April 1955; T . M c K e o w n , 'Fundamental problems in hospital planning', The Lancet, 4 April 1959; S. Smith, 'Psychiatry in general hospitals', The Lancet, 27 M a y 1961. 435
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h o m e life. By sheltered housing I m e a n small groups offlatletsor bungalows in which old or handicapped people can live independently but where there are certain c o m m u n a l services if required and a housekeeper w h o is o n call. Experiments o n such lines have been carried out in several countries in recent years. B y h o m e services I m e a n health and family help services. There is an urgent need for the expansion of health and hospital after-care services provided b y medical practitioners in the h o m e or in local clinics. T h e old and handicapped often seem to be at the end of the list of medical priorities. They should receive regular medical visits and examinations and general practitioners might be encouraged to work more often in small groups, so that they can have the ancillary assistance (such as a health visitor and a district nurse) to enable them to do this. There is also an urgent need for the development of a comprehensive local family help service, knitting together the various domiciliary services that already exist in m a n y areas, though usually on a small and improvised scale. O n e of its objects would be to provide family services for those w h o have no families. T h e other would be to provide 'supporting' services for those families w h o carry a heavy burden in caring for old people at h o m e . It would provide domestic help, shopping, laundry, meals, night attendance and occupational therapy, arrange holidays, supply household aids (such as handrails, wheelchairs, tripod walking-sticks and so on) and in other ways help the aged and handicapped. I would argue that its work should be based on the principle of trained social workers paying regular visits to all aged and handicapped persons in the population to assess their needs. I do not think that this is a task which can be taken on by religious and voluntary bodies. This is a conclusion that should be stressed. T h e population needing help is too large and the kinds of help required too complex. A substantial nucleus of fulltime staff with considerable training is required. But voluntary bodies could play a major role b y developing supplementary services such as friendly visiting and managing clubs and centres in partnership with the local authorities. This is no more than a brief sketch of the kind of solution which seems to be implied by the research so far carried out. England is only n o w awakening to the needs of large sections of her elderly population. T h e scale of the problem simply w a s not anticipated in the early post-war years and the domiciliary health and welfare services in particular are grossly inadequate however well they m a y compare with what exists in some other Western countries. Even n o w those in charge of the social services give the impression of running fast to stay in the same place. For in the past ten years the n u m ber of people in the population w h o are aged 80 and over has increased by 35 per cent. During the same period the costs of hospitalizationpartly due to the rise in the costs of drugs, nursing and surgeryhave soared, and the competition for cheap housing for one or two persons has become even m o r e acute. These are just a few of the reasons for the enforced emergence of the c o m m u n a l H o m e as a major instrument of social policy. I a m sure there have been similar pressures elsewhere.
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Yet in England there is also an undercurrent of feeling against the custodial institutioneven the c o m m u n a l H o m e , of which recent years have supplied m a n y examples, such as the relaxation of restrictions on mental patients, the improvements in children's H o m e s and the hopeful emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation. Once w e fully grasp the sociology as well as the psychology of institutional care I believe w e will seek even harder to reduce the length of stay in hospitals and H o m e s . T h e English c o m m u n a l H o m e s which were surveyed in the report summarized here compare favourably with m a n y abroad. Local councils are in some respects justifiably proud of newly built H o m e s which incorporate good standards of design, comfort and service. I have tended to concentrate on their negative features simply to show the strength of the argument to gradually abandon them. N o one would pretend that this can be done in the next few years. But if w e look forward twenty years or more it is difficult to believe that society could not develop the special housing and special social services that would m a k e this possible. By doing so I believe the lives of m a n y old people would be enriched and m a n y of their problems averted. In a prosperous society which is also sensitive to individual freedom as well as individual social security the need for c o m m u n a l welfare institutions intermediate between h o m e and hospital should be extremely small.
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Since T . Veblen {Leisure Class, 1899), sociologists, w h e n referring to leisure, have nearly always associated it with the activities of young people and the work of the active population. Leisure is then regarded as something that supplements, extends, compensates or prepares for professional activity. In the past few years, however, the sociology of leisure has also included study of the period w h e n professional activity isfinallylaid aside, which, for the greater part of the population, coincides with retirement. Gerontology, for its part,firstconcentrated almost exclusively on problems of health,financialassistance and other forms of welfare work. T h e lengthening of the expectation of life, the raising of living standards, the wider opportunities for all sorts of n e w activities, and the progress of the social sciences then induced research workers to study old age not as a process of senescence but as a n e w age in m a n ' s life as a social being. This age raises problems concerning not only living standards but also the w a y of life, and they must be faced both b y the individual a n d b y society as a whole. It is obvious that leisure must occupy a m o r e important place at this stage than at previous stages in life. There used to be talk of a 'leisured class'. W h e n m a n has given u p study and then his professional work, should he be said to be entering on the 'leisure age'? W e shall d o n o m o r e than put the question. T h e answer can be given only as progress is m a d e with research o n the relationship between leisure and old age. But it seems to us significant hat, a m o n g the two or three major sociological works on leisure published within the past two years, one of the most important, from the very standpoint of the sociology of leisure, should be a collective work on the relationship between leisure and old age 1 . T h e nineteen contributors to this book, edited by R . W . Kleemeier, record the first information gathered o n this subject b y scientific methods. But at the same time they give fresh impetus to theoretical thought o n leisure itself. 1. Kleemeier (Ed.), Ageing and Leisure; A research perspective into meaningful time, N e w York, Oxford University Press, 1961.
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T h e book's sub-title, ' A research perspective into meaningful use of time', is aptly chosen. Even those authors w h o concentrate mainly on statistical information concerning leisure activities and expenditure (S. de Grazia, R . Meyersohn, N . Foote, etc.) give evidence of a n e w line of thinking as compared with their previous writings. Margaret Gordon begins by pointing out that, in the United States of America, 76 per cent of persons w h o had retired stated, in 1957, that they had done so of their o w n free will, 60 per cent of them for health reasons. A t the same time, however, she emphasizes the variety of the patterns of retirement and the need for a searching study of the different effects of work, income and all the social and cultural factors of a lifetime on these patterns. T h e w a y in which the economic study included in this collection was carried out is also significant. F . Cottrell does, admittedly, begin with the classic question: ' W h y can w e produce more goods today than before and in less time?' But, after the inevitable considerations on the development of power resources, the author goes on to discuss the nature of work and the problem of values. Should the emphasis be placed on consumption, on production or on possible ways of using leisure ('listening to a symphony or ,walking in the cool of the evening,' etc.)? H e concludes with a kind of philosophy of the economic future of the United States, introduced by the following questions: W h a t value should be attached to free time? W h a t proportion of old people's time should be set aside for leisure pursuits? But the very notion of time takes on different meanings in different civilizations. Several anthropologists, under the guidance of R . Smith, analyse the various conceptions of the life-cycle and time in India, Japan, a m o n g the Eskimoes, etc. T h e United States, too, should ponder the values of free time as compared with those of consumption and production. Lastly, several authors put forward different conceptions of 'activity' in contrast to 'passivity'. A n u m b e r of sociologists and psychologists w h o have contributed to the collection concentrate on a theory of active attitudes in the use of leisure. In an article previously published in the American Journal of Sociology, Havighurst reverts to an analysis of the scales he had constructed for this purpose; R . Meyersohn offers a tentative classification of attitudes towards the mass media according to the scope left to the individual for his o w n creative approach to the message (written word, sound or image); H . Wilensky, analysing the degree of voluntary participation in the life of society, describes in greater detail than in his previous writings the part played by voluntary associations in making democracy a reality. His basic assumption is that the participation of broad sectors of the population in all forms of central power, in a civilization whose distinctive feature is mass leisure, is largely dependent o n the part they play in secondary groups serving as an intermediary between the primary groups (family, friends), on the one hand, and mass organizations (corporations, trade unions, etc.) and the bodies controlling the mass media (press agencies, television services, cinema groups, etc.), on the other. T h e book concludes with an article, ' T o w a r d a theory of leisure for social gerontology', by M a x Kaplan, w h o
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has adapted for the purpose the theories expounded in his work Leisure in America. T h e leisure of the 'third age' 1 thus raises issues of suchscope and complexity as to involve a n e w approach to the whole problem of the sociology of leisure.
H o w e v e r , it should not be concluded from these general observations that everyone, o n retirement, suddenly sees opening u p before h i m a life of leisure, completely changed by the fact that his time is no longer taken u p with professional work. C a n w e expect the majority of retired persons to be able to pursue activities entirely different from their occupations during their working life? Research has shown that, although a n e w pattern of life calls for s o m e effort of adjustment, the types of pursuits engaged in before and after retirement are not totally unlike: the life-cycle is a continuing whole. W h i c h of his previous occupations influence the retired person most in his choice of activity? Friedmann and Havighurst put forward in 1955 the theory that a person w h o ceases from a tedious occupation has n o desire to continue it after retirement, whereas anyone w h o has to give u p a fascinating profession will seek to return to it one w a y or another. But this theory has not been fully proved. O n retirement, m e m b e r s of thefirstgroup d o admittedly engage in pursuits marking a complete break with their former occupation; but, though the majority of m e m b e r s of the second group still hold to their professional interests, almost as large a proportion turn to other activities, which are an extension of previous leisure pursuits. A n Italian survey of the relationship between the activities of a n u m b e r of retired w o m e n a n d their previous occupations leads to m u c h the s a m e conclusions. It emergest hat 'the type of occupation most noticeably reduced is usually what m a d e u p the normal round of work (professional or domestic)'. O n the other hand, previous hobbies are far less affected by ageing.2 Lastly, H . Wilensky, studying the voluntary participation of old people in secondary groups, observes a definite relationship between participation before and after retirement. 'If, by age 30 or 40, a m a n has not found roots in the community, w h y should w e expect h i m to discover the c o m m u nity after 50 or 60?' 3 1. 'Third age' is here used in the sense of 'age of retirement', after thefirstage (youth) and the 'second age' (professional activity. (Translator's-Note.) 2. L . Meschieri, 1959, 'Attitudes l'gard des occupations et des loisirs chez les personnes ges, suivant leurs activits pralables', in: ' L e vieillissement, ses fonctions psychologiques et psychophysiologiques', C N R S , 1961. 3. H . Wilensky, 'Life cycle, work situation, and participation in formal associations', in: Kleemeier, op. cit. 440
OLD A G E It m a y therefore be concluded that the occupations engaged in after retirement represent a n extension, in varying degrees, of the previous activities but that, a m o n g these, it is the leisure pursuits which have the most significant relationship with the occupations of the third age. This finding vests the leisure of the active population with a new importance. Whether leisure is used to supplement or extend fascinating work or, on the contrary, to compensate for a mere job, it would seem to be of decisive importance in the adjustment of old people to retirement. It m a y well exert a dominant influence o n the w a y of life in the third age. O n e of the important functions of leisure during the working years would therefore appear to b e to serve as a preparation for the activities pursued in the last period of the life cycle. This function has not yet been adequately explored. Its study by the social sciences might enable us to gauge, to a large extent, the probabilities of adjustment or maladjustment to the third age; these probabilities are underrated at the present time.
However, there are m a n y obstacles, of both a material and a moral nature, which stand in the w a y of the fulfilment of the personality of retired people in and through leisure. T o begin with, there is n o need to have recourse to the findings of research to realize the difficulties arising from illness and poverty. In cases where there is not some degree of health and comfort, there can obviously be n o question of trying to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by leisure. In our industrial societies, the great majority of old people are still, to use the French expression, 'conomiquement faibles' (of scanty means). 1 C o n d e m n e d as they are to a life of nagging poverty, their free time is taken u p with coping with their everyday needs, w h e n they are not obsessed by hunger or loss of dignity. All too often their leisure is n o m o r e than an idlenessfilledwith anxiety in a society which offers them no decent w a g e , no h o m e , n o facilities for social life.2 Stress should here be laid on the negative influence of a system of values evolved by our society and disseminated in it by individuals and institutions alike. T h e nineteenth century with its swift industrial growth has bequeathed to us a system of values based on work. T h e economic value of a h u m a n life is measured mainly in terms of productivity. Workers claim as a reward for their efforts the right to retirement, i.e. retirement from productive activity. But w h e n they reach this stage, workers discover the contradiction inherent in a situation which they h a d coveted so long a n d w o n for themselves at such cost. T h e individual, abruptly removed from productive activi. According to the January 1963 issue of Sondages, published by the Institut Franais d'Opinion Publique, 48 per cent of the persons over 60 years of age have an income of less than 300 francs a month (1956). 2. M . Harrington, The Other America, Poverty in the U.S.A. The Macmillan C o . 1962. Cf. also Vittorio de Sica's film Umberto D.
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ity, feels that he has lost his value, because he is trying to live a n e w life of leisure while clinging to the values associated with work. First-hand experience of this contradiction often leads to inner conflicts and makes it difficult for aged people to adjust themselves to the situation of having, suddenly, a great deal of free timehowever m u c h they m a y have looked forward to it. Havighurst observed this phenomenon in the course of his various surveys of the leisure pursuits of m e n of over 40 years of age.1 ' T h e nineteenthcentury inner-directed m a n felt that he should work in order to m a k e a living. T h e n , paradoxically, he succeeded in making such a good living that he produced a n economy of abundance in which his grandson is no longer able to work all his life, but must spend s o m e of his years in retirement, although he still believes that work is a good thing in itself and he is suspicious of play. T h u s w e are n o w faced with a fundamental question. C a n m a n be happy in another w a y than in work?' However, a n e w tendency to set great store by leisure, fun, enjoyment, has been observable for some years past in the United States of America and is n o w spreading to Europe. ' T h e right to idleness' is n o w m o r e than a social d e m a n d . Emphasis is placed on happiness, which becomes a more important value than in the past. Every self-respecting citizen is in duty bound to seek it. A n y comparison of the situation of old people in primitive and in industrial societies reveals one basic difference, which is not fortuitous. It arises from the very nature of industrial society, from its system of values linked with productivity. A society such as ours has, indeed, evolved very rapidly. N o t only have there been m a n y changes within the past fifty years; they have also followed one another with an unprecedented speed. T h e ceaseless advances of technology contribute towards the relegation of older people to the fringe of this society, which cannot cumber itself with individuals unable to keep u p with the trend. In societies governed by tradition, the aged person's experience of the past m a d e h i m needed and revered. H e played the part of sage, initiator and connecting link between past and present. In a technological society, the individual, on retirement, no longer fulfils the vital role once assigned to h i m and, accordingly, he feels the cessation of professional activity as something that cuts h i m off from society. Retirement, bringing endless free time and its succession of gratuitous activities, is then lived out without any sense of purpose. In this context, leisure pursuits contribute nothing to the enrichment of the personality; they are mere pastimes masking the expectation of death. In primitive societies, on the other hand, the patriarch lives his finest years on reaching old age. Drawing upon the accumulated experience of a lifetime, he has at his disposal the wealth of reason and ideas that gives h i m authority in his family. H e becomes an arbiter, a source of wisdom. Unlike 1. R . Havighurst, 'The nature and value of meaningful free-time activity', in: Kleemeier, op. cit. 442
OLD A G E
old people in our societyexcept perhaps in rural areas where this type of individual is still to be foundhe has invested and stored u p throughout his life, in order to redistribute the fruits of his experience to his kith and
kin.
O n e last remark on this point: there is, of course, n o question of regarding primitive societies as a Paradise Lost for old folk, but merely of noting that in these societies a privileged place is reserved for the elders. This n e w form of social and cultural integration is an extension of their active life. W h a t equivalent compensation might be offered by our m o d e r n society? According to Havighurst, the values attaching to work can be transferred to leisure pursuits, which would d r a w u p o n those same values. This amounts to an admission that leisure in the third age can be m o r e than a substitute for professional life. It can take o n the value of a central activity. 'People can get the same satisfactions from leisure as from work. Consequently, it is possible and desirable at the time of retirement, to seek leisure activities which will provide the satisfactions one had obtained from work.' T h e point is, not to offer old people every possible form of leisure pursuit, regardless of their age, but rather to offer those which are in keeping with the values cherished by them. In this connexion, it would be helpful to list the values cherished by old people and to ascertain with which leisure pursuits they associate them.
A s a preliminary to research in thisfield,each society shouldfirsttry to ascertain the types of leisure pursuits n o w selected during the third age. D o these pursuits overlap everywhere, as in the United States of America, with those of other periods in life, or are they different? W e have all too little information o n this subject. A s was mentioned earlier, market studies and opinion surveys have been centred rather o n the leisure pursuits of the working population and, m o r e recently, o n those of young people. Nevertheless, some information can be gleaned from the few national surveys bearing on the leisure of all age groups (from 15 years upwards) of a national population. W e shall use the information derived from one of the bestk n o w n surveys, carried out in 1956 on a sample of 5,021 individuals, representing all sectors of the population of the United States of America. 1 T h e following data (Table 1) were obtained from replies to the question: ' W h a t leisure pursuits did you engage in yesterday?' W e shall compare the replies given by persons over 60 years of age with the average replies of the population as a whole. This will eliminate any guesswork regarding the particular features of leisure in the third age. T h e 1. A survey for the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. 'Opinion Research Corporation', Princeton, N e w Jersey, December 1957, quoted by S. de Grazia: Work, Time and Leisure.
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differences observed d o not reveal the qualitative significance of leisure activities but they offer some indication of behaviour patterns. A s w a s to be expected, some activities (shopping, sport, listening to gramophone records, going to the cinema) are less frequent in the third age, T A B L E I. Question: W h a t leisure pursuits did you engage in yesterday? (United States of America, 1956)
Over 60 years of age Total population of over 15 years of age Over 60 years of age Total population of over 15 years of age
( ) % None TV Visiting Reading magazines Reading books O d d jobs Games (cards, chess) Meetings 9 53 37 27
21 12
( ) % 7 57 38 27 18
11
() % Lectures Gardening Listening to records Singing and playing some instrument Sport Watching sport Shopping Cinema
I
( ) %
I
42 6 3
2 2
1 1
33 H 5 8 4 6 3
6
12
7
11
A national survey conducted by the Institut Franais d'Opinion Publique on the favourite amusements of elderly people (1956) and others (1945) shows resemblances and differences. The results are comparable with those given above (Sondages, 1/63).
whilst others, particularly gardening, b e c o m e m o r e popular. But the s a m e types of activity are pursued everywhere to varying degrees, and the frequency for m a n y of these activities (television, visiting, reading, meetings, etc.) is m u c h the s a m e for the third age as for the population as a whole. H o w e v e r , sociologists and psychologists are aware that such data, though neccessary in order to find out about behaviour patterns, provide too flimsy a basis for any study of their significance. Is the leisure behaviour observed satisfactory for the individual and society? A r e the properties or leisure activities such that their pursuit is likely to retard, attenuate, compensate or transform the ill effects of senescence? D o they give aged people the feeling of playing any real part in family and social life? W e cannot say. However, w e do k n o w that p h e n o m e n a of social maladjustement are revealed in all surveys bearing o n the third age. Although the suicide rate betokens failure ascribable to m a n y different factors lying outside the scope of the present article, one cannot help calling to m i n d thefiguresgiven for the United States of America by S . de Grazia. T h e suicide rate, which is 22/100,000 for m e n in their 4.0's, steadily increases to the end of life, reaching 60.7/100,000 at 8 0 years of age. W e should doubtless find comparable trends in other industrialized societies. Despite symposia and surveys, the
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basic problems of the third age in our society are far from being solved, even in theory. A s regards leisure, it is questionable whether the full scope and depth of these problems have even been appreciated.
CRITERIOLOGY
At the beginning of the previous section, a reference w a s m a d e to the dearth of information on the leisure of the third age, by very reason of the situation of old people in present-day society. If the dominant values and structures were changed, what leisure activities could be pursued by old people? N o answer to this question can be found through research.1 Even if the leisure behaviour patterns of the third age do not differ greatly from those of an adult population, w e can at least venture the hypothesis that their cultural content m a y present substantial differences. W h a t would be the significance of these differences? T h e essential problem of the leisure of older people surely lies in its significance for the individual and society. W h a t values do society and the individual associate a n d wish to associate with leisure? W e here c o m e back to a question already put at the beginning of this article, namely, h o w can the sociology of leisure define the set of problems with which research into gerontology must be concerned? Taking a n over-all view of the matter, some sociologists2 have sought to specify the criteria of adjustment to retirement which would be valid for all activities, including leisure pursuits. J. R . Treanton s u m s them u p as follows: (a) participation in certain social activities; (b) satisfaction derived from those activities; (c) subjective happiness; (d) absence of certain behaviour patterns reflecting maladjustments; (e) degree to which wishes are realized. Others 3 confine themselves to a study of the social factors making for adjustment, such as previous work, health, financial security, etc. But the problem n o w facing research workers is to find out what method should be used to advance further, for the study of leisure a m o n g old people has yielded only partial results. T h e data available are often replies to questions without any very clear connexion between them, so that they are scarcely comparable. These data do not cover the same ground, nor are they complementary. These results can hardly be used as a guide in deciding upon the social or cultural action to be taken to meet the needs of the third age. They are often negative, for they are concerned with maladjustment and its causes. O c c a sionally they are positive but they then have little connexion with the set of i. M a x Kaplan rightly points out that there is no means of knowing 'what older persons can do by summary studies of what they now do' in: Kleemeier, op. cit. 2. Cavair, Shoule, Burgess, Havighurst, Goldnamer, Personal Adjustment in Old Age, J 9493. Friedmann and Havighurst.
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social factors conduciveor otherwiseto their application. T h e y are not studied in the light of the n e w situations to be brought about. W e feel that, in every society, the a i m of research should be to define the m a i n courses that m a y be pursued b y any social a n d cultural policy calculated to meet the various needs of the population in question; these courses must also be compatible with the various limitations imposed b y historical circumstances. W e consider it premature to frame either a theory or a doctrine of leisure in the third age, despite the fact that some writers have m a d e a brave attempt to do so.1 B u t the implications of these optional courses, both for individuals and for the c o m m u n i t y as a whole, should be studied experimentally in the light of various criteriacultural, social a n d economic. Research should be carried out o n the properties of these criteria. W e can and must assess the validity of these criteria in relation to the most important issues, their respective value in a logical system, their acceptability as compared with the data at our disposal, a n d , lastly, their applicability in relation to the decisions that might be taken within the existing limitations.2 S o m e of the courses that might be adopted with regard to leisure a n d old age are listed hereunder. T h e y might serve both as afirstfinishingline a n d as a n e w starting point for progress in the criteriology of leisure in the third age. i. If production can be increased despite a reduction in hours of w o r k , to what extent is it possible to use the time thus m a d e available for keeping y o u n g people for a longer period at school, for giving adults m o r e leisure time (i.e. productive adults in the economic sense of the w o r d ) and for enabling them to retire at a n earlier age? 2. W h a t are the merits a n d drawbacks of arranging for persons w h o have reached the third age to assume the fullest possible responsibilities in the professional work they have already been doing or in s o m e other activity? 3. Apart from this work, h o w far should older people be encouraged to share in the responsibilities of family, civic or political life, or to engage in leisure pursuits? 4 . S o far as leisure is concerned, is it better to encourage older people to continue activities connected with w o r k a n d various obligations (utilitarian a n d disinterested craftsmanship, etc.), or to spend m o r e time in complete relaxation (walking or television)? 5. A s regards complete relaxation, are activities with a strong social bias (group g a m e s , associations, etc.) preferable to m o r e individualistic forms of relaxation (hobbies, art)? 6. Should recreational or educational activities be encouraged? W h a t value 1. M . Kaplan, 'Toward a theory of leisure for social gerontology', in: Ageing and Leisure, op. cit. 2. Before being applied to actual situations, the criteria should, according to Bachelard, constitute a logically deduced hypothetical system. Even if only one of them isfinallyadopted, it has a definite relationship to the others and the structure of the whole is such that the information it can yield has both a theoretical and a practical value.
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can be derived by maintaining or raising the cultural level in the third age? 7. Is cultural material of a mainly fictional nature (films, novels) more appropriate than material of an instructional type? 8. In the provision of information for the third age, is it preferable to place emphasis on special items in order to help old people to catch u p with contemporary cultural needs, or should m u c h the same kind of information be provided for people at all ages? 9. T o what extent can older people assume responsibilities in social and cultural bodies catering for all, and to w h a t extent should young people assume some responsibility in bodies largely controlled by their elders? Yet other problems await formulation. It would obviously be necessary to build u p a n interdisciplinary research team to find the answers to these questions. Historians, economists, sociologists and psychologists would not only exchange information concerning their o w n particularfieldbut they would together construct, in the light of the same problems and according to the same system, co-ordinated criteria, common significant units studied on the basis of diachronic or synchronic data differing according to the branch of study. If this interdisciplinary research is to have a positive character, it must combine creative imagination with scientific rigour. It should take the form of a co-ordinated study of the various types of social and cultural success in the third age according to the different criteria, in different present-day societies and in different social environments within each society. Such synchronic studies might well be supplemented by a diachronic analysis which would reveal under what conditions and by what processes certain old people are enabled to share m o r e fully in social and cultural life. T h e combined use of the objective methods of historical sociology and the subjective methods of autobiography might, in our opinion, bring about an advance in our theoretical a n d practical knowledge of the problem under consideration.
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T W O
In considering the present situation in the field of social gerontology one point is particularly noteworthy: the problems of elderly people are increasingly occupying the general public and those responsible for policy in the sphere of labour and welfare. But, in spite of important developments in research, the factual basis for policy making is still very weak. T h e situation of the elderly n o doubt varies from country to country, but intelligent discussion regarding the differences and their economic and cultural background is hampered by the lack of knowledge about basic facts in m a n y countries and the incomparability of existing material. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers from various disciplines have been engaged on research into old age, but they tend to be working in relative isolation. T h e absence of systematic means of communication outside the United States of America (in the form of journals, frequent meetings or research seminars), not to mention language barriers and inadequate finance, prevents most of them from assimilating the work of people in other countries. In order to improve these conditions the International Association of Gerontology in 1955-56 established a Social Research Committee consisting of economists, sociologists, psychologists and physicians with a branch for Europe and a branch for the United States. T h e formation of the committee was followed by a meeting of the American branch in Mexico City in September 1956 and by a research conference conducted by the European branch in October of the same year in Copenhagen. A t the Copenhagen Conference a n u m b e r of suggestions for comparative research were discussed and endorsed.1 General problems and subjects were identified and examples given of practical proposals which would satisfy certain m i n i m u m requirements for cross-national research. Although research methods were not discussed at any length, participants agreed that there were two principal methods: (a) surveys o n a national sampling basis, and (b) localized intensive studies, including those of a 'longitudinal' type. In July 1957 a seminar organized by the American and the European Social Research Committees in M e r a n o took the research proposals a stage 1. See the report on Cross-national Surveys on Old Age published in 1958 by the Division of Gerontology, University of Michigan, A n n Arbor, Michigan. 45 !
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further.1 S o m e of the proposals were discussed at other international conferences, and a seminar at Knigswinter in October 1958, organized by the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration, w a s of particular value.2 With the assistance of the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration and the Attivit Assistenziali Italiane e Internazionali, the European Committee organized a special meeting of experts in Assisi, Italy, in September 1959 to discuss the details of a p r o g r a m m e of research with the object of submitting an application to a research foundation or agency for financial assistance. A survey to pilot a possible future cross-national survey of old people h a d been carried out in England earlier that year with the financial support of the Gulbenkian Foundation. 3 Finally, an international research seminar, organized b y the American Committee under a grant from the United States Institute of Mental Health, was held in Berkeley (August i960) a n d carried the discussion further.4
T h e m a n y proposals put forward at these meetings formed the basis for a practical attempt at cross-national research which has taken place since i960 by m e a n s of concerted national sample surveys. Participation w a s open to all interested countries. D e n m a r k , Great Britain and the United States are n o w taking part in the project which is financed by a substantial grant from the United States National Institutes of Health. T h e responsible investigators are: for the United States: Ethel Shanas, University of Chicago; for Great Britain: Peter T o w n s e n d , L o n d o n School of Economics and Political Science, and Dorothy Cole W e d d e r b u r n , University of Cambridge; for D e n m a r k : Henning Friis, Poul Milhoj a n d Jean Stehouwer, Danish National Institute of Social Research. Field w o r k is carried out in the United States by the National Opinion Research Center and data-processing by the Operational Analysis Center, both at the University of Chicago. In Great Britain, technical assistance is provided by the Government Social Survey and in D e n m a r k by the National Institute of Social Research. T h e aim of this cross-national survey isfirstof all to provide a basis for comparisons between the living conditions a n d attitudes of people aged
1. See the Report on Aging and Social Health in the U.S.A. and Europe. Published by the Division of Gerontology, University of Michigan, A n n Arbor, Michigan, '959- J 2. United Nations European Seminar, the Individual and Social Importance of Activitie for the Elderly, Knigswinter 1958. Geneva, 1959 (mimeographed). ( U N / T A A / SEM/1958.) 3. P. Townsend and B . Rees, The Personal, Family and Social Circumstances of Old People: Report of a Survey to Pilot a Future Cross-National Survey, London Schoo Economics, 1959. 4. The report of this Seminar is to be published under the title: Psychological and Social Processes of Ageing: an International Research Seminar.
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65 and over in countries with different economic, social and cultural patterns. It m a y thereby b e possible to reach certain conclusions regarding the influence of external factors on the life of elderly people, and hence also contribute to knowledge regarding those factors which are connected with ageing as such and which are independent of specific national situations. T h e study method consists of interviews with national probability samples of the non-institutionalized population of 65 years and over. T h e areas for investigation are the following: 1. General physical and mental capacity : (a) general level of physical and mental well-being (symptoms, diseases); (b) degree of incapacity for self-care (using a specific rating of mobility a n d of capacity to perform personal and household activities); (c) nature a n d frequency of routine help provided in the h o m e ; (d) care provided in illness. 2. Economic situation of the aged : (a) size a n d source of income; (b) size and composition of assets. 3. Employment and retirement : (a) nature of present/past employment (specification of occupation, industry, hours worked, regular or seasonal employment, etc.; (b) age at and reasons for retirement; (c) some attitudes towards retirement and towards alternative employment. 4 . Family and other social relationships : (a) basic data as to old person's marital status, length of widowhood, etc.; (b) social setting to which old person belongs (composition of household shared and description of family structure and cohesion, including n u m b e r of children, siblings, and other close relatives, and their proximity); (c) family interaction, i.e. frequency and nature of contact between the old person a n d his children and other relatives; (d) measurement of old person's social isolation in the objective sense of lack of contact with other people, together with some indication of his subjective feelings of loneliness. 5. Housing and accommodation (not included in the United States study because a special census of housing conditions of elderly people w a s undertaken in conjunction with the i960 census): (a) type of a c c o m m o dation in formal terms (single or multiple household, dwelling house, flat or bungalow, etc.); (b) condition or standard of accommodation (age, amenities); (c) attitudes towards present accommodation a n d possible alternatives. O f the questions in the questionnaires from 75 to 9 0 per cent are 'crossnational' questions. In addition, each of the national questionnaires contains a n u m b e r of questions of particular national interest. T h e crossnational questions are comparable by content, not in their national formulation. Differences in national style, w a y of talking and approach, are reflected in each national questionnaire. N o effort has been m a d e to 'translate' questions literally. People are 'dizzy' in the United States, 'giddy' in Great Britain a n d 'svimmel' in D e n m a r k . ' G i d d y ' makes n o sense in the United States, just as 'svimmel' makes no sense in Great Britain or the United States. But the content of each question has been discussed over and over again in order to secure comparability in answers. Furthermore, in order to
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secure the same attitude on the part of the respondents throughout the interview (the same 'atmosphere') the questions have been grouped in the same order in the questionnaires used in each of the three countries. Besides the use of comparable questionnaires, the highest degree of comparability has been sought by the following means: i. Comparable sample design. In each country a stratified area probability sample is used. 2. S a m e definitions of important variables, concepts and terms. 3. S a m e interviewing instructions on cross-national questions. 4. Approximately same season for interviews: United States, m i d - M a y to August 1962; United K i n g d o m , m i d - M a y to July 1962 (a second national sample of old people was interviewed in November-December 1962); D e n m a r k , mid-April to early July 1962. 5. S a m e coding procedure, including agreement on coding of all crossnational 'open questions'. O f course, there are certain problems involving comparability which could not be entirely overcome int he surveys. In thefirstplace, research w a s limited to those living in private households. Old people living in institutions were not interviewed (except in Britain). In the United K i n g d o m and the United States the percentage of elderly people living in institutions amounts to 3-4 per cent; in D e n m a r k the percentage is thought to be higher. T h e oldest and the most infirm members of the elderly population are therefore not fully represented in the results. In addition some of the differences found between the three countries, say, in the proportions of old people in private households w h o were bedridden or isolated from their families, m a y of course be partly attributable to the different proportions of the elderly population living in various types of institutions. In the second place, there were non-respondents in all three countries. These were people w h o could not be contacted or refused an interview. Although some information was collected about them, it is possible that they tended to differ from country to country in certain of their characteristics. T h e over-all comparability of the results is unlikely to have been more than marginally affected, because the non-response rate w a s broadly similar and not very large. Nevertheless, such points cannot be overlooked in considering small differences in the results of surveys undertaken in different countries. It m a y be of interest to others w h o are considering organizing crossnational surveys to k n o w what steps were necessary to secure concerted action : i960. First application for grant from each country forwarded to the United States National Institutes of Health (after the preliminary discussions in Copenhagen, M e r a n o , Assisi and Berkeley). January 1961. General planning meeting. M a y 1961. Meeting to draft joint paper on aims, hypotheses, definitions and sampling methods to be submitted to National Institutes of Health. October-November 1961. Meetings on questionnaire for national pilot studies.
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M a r c h 1962. Meeting on final content and structure of cross-national questionnaire based on the results and experiences from national pilot studies. Agreement on some 150 questions and sub questions and on code symbols. Agreement on definitions used in interviewer instructions. April 1962. Preparation offieldwork in each country. T h e British research organization (Government Social Survey) sends observer to the Danish interviewer briefings. June 1962. Meeting on coding of open questions. September 1962. Meeting on coding. M a r c h 1963. Meeting on tabulation and analysis. Presentation of marginal distributions cross-tabulated by sex and age groups and preparations m a d e for further tabulation and analysis of national as well as crossnational data. Several more meetings on tabulation and analysis will take place during 1963 and 1964. T h e final presentation of the results will take place o n a national as well as on a cross-national basis. T h e participants in the project hope that the work undertaken will be of interest not only to gerontologists, but also to scholars interested in crossnational studies in general. A n y country interested in carrying out such a survey m a y have the questionnaires a n d an opportunity for discussion with the current group of investigators. W e should like to see similar studies in countries of a more rural structure and with other social systems. If research in other countries is carried out on exactly the same lines as the existing survey, this will contribute more to scientific accumulation in the gerontological field than the addition of m o r e specialized studies. However, should another group of researchers prefer to embark upon cross-national research in the gerontologicalfieldusing a completely different approach, this could, of course, also be valuable. W h a t should be borne in mind is that cross-national research in the strict sense, which w e have attempted, is a rather difficult and time-consuming affair. A n d it is only possible to undertake such research in a spirit of full co-operation which presupposes great frankness in discussions regarding procedures and a desire on the part of each of the national groups to understand problems affecting other participants.
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This article presents a summary of the research being carried out by the m a i n specialized bodies concerned with the subject of ageing (universities in several countries, institutes, centres and associations). T h e information assembled is incomplete and varies considerably in nature. It is incomplete for a n u m b e r of reasons. In thefirstplace, even in a country like the United K i n g d o m , which is the only one with an up-to-date register of research (see below), little is k n o w n about what is being done until the authors or persons responsible publish something. Secondly, certain projects which are k n o w n to be in progress come to nothing. In other cases, the a m o u n t of research, the variety of bodies concerned, and the size of the country (United States of America) all give rise to difficulties. It m a y be added that the question of selection arises w h e n there is a wide range of activities. Moreover, the research projects themselves vary greatly, one involving a survey covering 2,000 people, and another, a monograph o n a small group; one, social and administrative studies and another, medical and social tests. T h e projects m a y be carried out by a well-equipped team or by a specialist working alone, and m a y relate to a given point of time or to a long period, so that comparison or extrapolation is seldom possible. Nevertheless, little by little, thefieldof knowledge is growing, n o w here, n o w there, rather as clearings extend in a forest tract being brought under cultivation. N o claim is m a d e , therefore, that the information given below is exhaustive; but it has the merit of bringing to notice the main organizations on which documentation is available, uneven as it m a y be. It will help readers to understand what is being done. It shows, also, that social gerontology is emerging, increasingly, as a separate branch of study, actively developing, in which, however, progress is impossible without the co-operation of specialists in a large number offields,ranging from medicine, through mathematical statistics, to sociology. T h e addresses given should enable readers to establish contact with the organizations of interest to them.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA T h e main work is being done either by Federal Government departments or by universities, or by the two together. T h e big foundations which, as is well k n o w n , play such an important part in this country, are assisting either by making grants for studies and scientific meetings or by awarding research fellowhips. T h e Ford Foundation, for instance, has a special p r o g r a m m e in thisfield:in 1962, it m a d e grants of over $2,600,000 to universities, scientific associations or social welfare services in order, in most cases, to improve
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the quality of the assistance provided b y the c o m m u n i t y for the aged, particularly with regard to housing and services (in this connexion, psychological research is of great importance). A t the local level, the authorities are naturally also taking action in this sphere, with the object of gaining a better understanding of the problems set t h e m by old age. T h e G o v e r n m e n t of the United States of America is fully aware of the immediateand, even m o r e , the long-termimportance of the ageing of the population. Proof of this is to be seen,firstly,in the Federal Council on Ageing, a n interdepartmental council responsible for keeping in touch with this question, a n d , secondly, in the holding of the great W h i t e H o u s e Conference o n Ageing at Washington, in January 1961, which brought together 2,800 delegates for joint discussion of reports prepared in fifty-one states a n d territories. M u c h of the discussion w a s naturally concerned with economic a n d social questions. A n idea of the w o r k being done b y the Federal Departments can also b e gained from the following list, showing, opposite the n a m e of each b o d y , the research topics w h i c h it deals with directly or which are being studied under its auspices: Department of Agriculture Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census Economics; nutrition and diet; health and medical care in rural areas. Census (special tables); support for specialized studies.
Department of Health, Education and Welfare Special Staff on Ageing, established Direction of statistical investigations, in 1956 preparations for the 1961 Conference. Social Security Administration Family relations.. Foreign systems. Health expenditure. Income levels. Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Efficiency of the pensions system. Insurance Old A g e Assistance characteristics. Bureau of Public Assistance Medical care needs. Public Health Service (including Social and economic aspects of medical National Institutes of Health) care. Office of Vocational Rehabilita- Research and demonstration. tion Office of Education Needs with regard to training. Housing and H o m e Finance Needs and wishes in this matter; Agency conference on this subject. Department of Labour Bureau of Labour Statistics Bureau of Employment Security Employment of middle-aged and older workers. Comparative job performance. Effects of technological changes. Elderly couples' budgets. Employment; placing. Best methods of providing for security of employment.
In the universityfield,the range is still wider. Below is a list of the n a m e s of the universities giving an important place to gerontology a n d having specialized research a n d training centres:
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JOURNAL Mount Angel College (Oregon) University of North C a rolina University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State University Purdue University Syracuse University (New York)
Los Angeles State College University of California Louisiana State Univer(Berkeley and Los sity Angeles) University of Chicago University of Miami
University of Texas (Galveston) University of Michigan University of Connecticut University of Washington Michigan State Univer- Washington University Cornell University sity (St. Louis) University of Minnesota Western Reserve UniverDuke University sity University of Missouri University of Wisconsin O n e of the m a n y co-ordinating bodies is an Inter-University Council in Social Gerontology, located at the University of Michigan. T h e University of Chicago m a y be taken as an example. A Committee on H u m a n Development (5835 S . K i m b a r k Avenue, Chicago 37), headed b y M r s . Bernice L . Neugarten, P h . D . , has been set up in its Division of Social Sciences. T h e objects of this committee are,firstly,to study h o w h u m a n behaviour develops throughout life and, secondly, to train research workers and teachers. For this purpose, it provides eleven special courses in gerontology. Projects at present in progress include: a study of adults aged 4 0 to 90 in Kansas City; a study of mental health factors a m o n g middle-aged w o m e n ; investigation of age norms in the social life of adults; a study of the adjustment of the aged to life in old people's homes, and another on old people not living in such homes (in association with similar work being done in the United K i n g d o m and in D e n m a r k ) . A m o n g those taking part in the committee's work, in addition to M r s . Neugarten, are Miss Ethel Shanas and Messrs. J a m e s E . Birren, Robert J. Havighurst, William E . Henry, Robert A . Levine, and Mortar A . Lieberman. T h e University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) might also have been taken as an example, as it has set u p , in its Institute for H u m a n Adjustment (1510 R a c k h a m Building, A n n Arbor, M i c h . ) , a Division of Gerontology, headed by M r s . W i l m a D o n a h u e , P h . D . , w h o is one of the leading figures in the International Association of Gerontology. Scientific congresses are frequently held, on her initiative, at A n n Arbor. Aboutfifteenresearch workers are collaborating in the institute's p r o g r a m m e of research, consultation a n d training, which has the support of several foundations and public bodies. Its work relates mainly to preparation for retirement, the rehabilitation of the elderly sick, housing and even religion.
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There is no gerontological association, but a corporation through which research work i encouraged and a catalogue of research in progress or s planned is kept up to date, this latter being a very notable undertaking. T h e National Corporation for the Care of Old People (Nuffield Lodge, Regent's Park, London, N W i ) , whose Secretary i M r . R . F . Simson, publishes a s collection entitled Old Age: a Register of Social Research, in which projects are presented in standardized form. It gives the title, purpose and method of each study, the names of the organizations concerned, the names and qualifications of the persons responsible, and dates. T h e corporation also publishes a quarterly bulletin giving summaries of current projects, prepared by the Advisory Group on Surveys and Research. This body was set u p by the National Old People's Welfare Council to advise on the work to be undertaken and the methods to be used. T h e following l s has been compiled it from the National Corporation's register:
Universities Aberdeen Department of Public Health and Social Medicine (Dr. J. M.Richardson [2]1) Belfast Department of Social Studies (C. R . Duff); Department of Mental Health (John Graham White) Birmingham Department of Social Medicine (Professor Thomas M c K e o w n ) Bristol Department of Psychology (K. F. Murreil) Cambridge Department of Applied Economics (J. E . G . Utting); Department of H u m a n Ecology (Professor Leslie Banks; Dr. James A . Hislop); Psychological Laboratory (Rev. A . T . Welford) Durham Department of Architecture (Professor J. H . Napper); Department of Psychological Medicine (Professeur Martin Roth); Department of Social Studies (J. B. Cullingworth) Edinburgh Department of Public Health and Social Medicine (Cecil Gordon, J.G.Thomson) Exeter Psychological Laboratory (Jacek Szafran) Glasgow Department of Social and Economic Research (T. Brennan); Institute of Physiology (J. V . G . A . Durnin) Liverpool Department of Social Science (Professor T . S. Simey, Miss M . P. Hall, Dr. Raymond Brock) London London School of Economics and Political Science (P. Townsend, Brian Rees, Miss K . M . Slack, Miss R . Chambers, Miss C . Woodroffe)
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Manchester Department of Social Administration (Professor T . E . Chester, S. K . Ruck, W . A . J. Farndale, R . G . S. Brown, Mrs. B . N . Rodgers); Department of Social and Preventive Medicine (Mrs. Suzanne M . Lempert [2], J. Hajnal) Nottingham Department of Social Science (A. R . Emerson [a], Mrs. D . Barley) St. Andrews Department of Social and Preventive Medicine (Professeur A . Mair) Swansea Department of Social Science (R. H u w s Jones [3]) Research institutions Acton Society Trust (Miss Rosemary Stewart) Building Research Station (Watford, Herts.) (Miss Vere Hole, Mrs. P. G . Allen) Institute of Community Studies (London) (P. Willmot [a], Michael Young [a], P. Townsend) Medical Research Council Group for Research on Occupational Aspects of Ageing (Liverpool) (Alastair Heron); Climate and Working Efficiency Research Unit (Oxford) (J. S. Weiner) Besides these bodies, numerous as they are, others dealing with the subject include twenty-one Local Authorities, thirteen hospitals, five Old People's Welfare Committees and several other institutions (including the RegistrarGeneral's Office) and, naturally, a few individual research workers, such as M r . F . Le Gros Clark, D r . John Fry, M r . Geoffrey Gibson, M r . H . C . Miller, D r . J. H . Sheldon and M r . D . R . Snellgrove. T h e above list covers only work completed or begun since 1955. Although they vary greatly in detail and method, the current projects m a y be classified under the following main headings: labour, employment and age; family problems; assistance to the aged, domestic help, h o m e care, day hospitals, provision of meals, other types of assistance; housing and homes; effects of retirement: budget, health, preparation for retirement, etc.
DENMARK
T h e National Institute of Social Studies (Socialforskningsinstitutet, N y h a v n 38, Copenhagen K ) , headed by M r . Henning Friis, is studying questions relating to social gerontology. This is a public institution employing thirteen full-time research workers, three of w h o m are concerned exclusively with such problems. T h e y have already published a n u m b e r of studies, including one dealing with a district of Copenhagen inhabited by people of modest means. T h e institute is at present carrying out a large-scale survey, in co-ordination with British and American projets, with a view to making international comparisons.
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Finland has had a gerontological society (Societas Gerontologica Fennica r.y.) since 1948. Its President is M r s . Eeva Jalavisto and its membership includes representatives of a variety of branches of study, including statistics, sociology and medicine. It has a general.clinic (Haartmanikatu 1, Helsinki) and brings out an annual publication, Geron. There is also a Finnish O l d People's Welfare Federation, headed by M r s . Anni Seppnen, with its headquarters at the same address as the society, which is mainly concerned with welfare work.
NORWAY
Since 1957 a National Institute of Gerontology has been responsible for carrying out and promoting research in thisfield.This is a private institution, headed by M r s . E v a Beverfelt, and financed partly by the M u n i cipality of Oslo, the National Association for Public Health and the National Science Foundation. T h e research team of the Nasjonalforeningens Gerontoligske Institutt consists of a doctor, three psychologists and a social welfare worker, and it is assisted by outside workers. For the past two years, it has been carrying out a psychological and medical survey on two groups of people, one group being between the ages of 55 and 6 4 and the other between the ages of 70 and 74. T h e Institute of Social Medicine (Socialmedisinsk Institutt, Universitet i Oslo), headed by Professor A Strm, and the Institute of Sociology (Sociologisk Institutt, Lkkeveien 7, Oslo) collaborate with the Institute of Gerontology. Indeed, they have formed joint research teams and, in 1961, published a study on the possibilities of employment open to older workers.
SWEDEN
T w o Swedish Universities, those of L u n d and Uppsala, deal with gerontology in their social mdecine department. A division of the Social Welfare Bureau (Socialstyrelsen) is concerned with the question of the facilities available to the aged, while the occupational health division in the Swedish Employers' Confederation (Svenska Arbetsgivarefreningen, Sa, Blasieholmsh a m n e n 4 A , Stockholm) keeps in touch with the problems of old age and employment. T h e head of this division, Professor Sven Forssman, is also Chairman of the Scientific Committee ofthe Personnel M a n a g e m e n t Council (Personaladministrativa Radet, Warfvingesvg 26, Stockholm K ) , which is also concerned with the health and social problems of middle-aged or older workers.
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T h e organizations studying the social problems of old age include the Social Health Section of the Health Institute of Dsseldorf and the Institute of Social Hygiene, Vocational Guidance and Industrial Medicine of Bad Godesberg. Both these organizations are under the charge of Professor Ewald Gerfeldt (Ziethenstrasse 29, Bad Godesberg 532). Social gerontology is also one of thefieldsof research covered by Divo, the Institute of Economic and Social Research and Applied Mathematics (Institut fr Wirtschaftsforschung-Sozialforschung und Angewandte Mathematik, A m Hauptbahnhof 12, Frankfurt-am-Main), one of whose directors is D r . Gerhardt Baumert. Mention must also be m a d e of the Cologne Social Research and Welfare Institute (Institut fr Selbsthilfe u n d Sozialforschung e . V . , Apostelnstrasse 9, Cologne), which has m a d e a study of the standards of living of old people in two large towns in the Federal Republic of G e r m a n y .
NETHERLANDS
T h e Netherlands has a Federation for the Care of the Aged and a Gerontological Society (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Gerontologie, Laan van O u d Poelgeest 4, Oegstgeest), the Secretary of which is D r . Robert J. van Zonneveld. O n e of its more important recent projects was a study on the degree of loneliness experienced by old people in Amsterdam, and the reasons therefor. T h e authors, with the support of the Ministry of Social W o r k , the Municipality of Amsterdam and the Federation for the Care of the Aged, tried to discover ways of remedying such loneliness. A t the same time, the municipality m a d e a survey of all the facilities available to old people. T h e Psychological Institute of Nimeguen also took u p certain social problems in a survey, whose results were recently published. Another survey, on the needs of old people, has been published by the Municipality of Meppel, in the north-eastern part of the country. A s such work is often undertaken in a haphazard w a y , the Federation for the Care of the A g e d is anxious to co-ordinate activities and to secure the assistance of the public authorities or of a large national foundation. Subjects recently dealt with or under consideration include needs with regard to housing and domestic help, and the influence of retirement. Large-scale psychological and medical surveys are also taking into account social factors. O n e of these surveys, for instance, is to cover people in the 55 to 65 age group, with the object of bringing to light the effect of retirement o n the course of development of physiological and psychological functions.
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T h e only organization carrying out any research work on old people, with particular reference to housing questions, is the Social Science Research Centre of the University of Vienna (Socialwissenschaftliche Forschungsstelle, D r . Karl Lger-Ring, Vienna i).
HUNGARY
T h e A c a d e m y of Science has m a d e a committee (Magyar Tudomnyos akadmia Gerontolgiai Bizottsga, Szchenyi rakpart 3 , Budapest V ) responsible for co-ordinating gerontological research. T h e chairman of the committee is D r . Lszl Haranghy. Social problems are the particular concern of Professor Andor Weltner (Department of Labour Legislation, University of Budapest), D r . Gyrgy Acsdi, of the Central Statistical Office, and M r s . R . K a d a , Head of Department I X , Ministry of Public Health. W o r k s by the twelve members of the committee and by several foreign scientists are to be published in a review, Folia Gerontologica, whose establishment has already been authorized.
SWITZERLAND
T h e two main institutions concerned with social gerontology in this country are the Fondation Nationale Suisse 'Pour la Vieillesse' (Seestrasse 2, Zrich 2) and the Socit Suisse de Grontologie. T h efirst,which is a private corporation headed by M r . P h . Etter, has 27 cantonal and regional committees, 20 full-time employees and nearly 3,000 people helping from time to time in its work. It publishes a quarterly journal, Pro Senectute, and in 1961 set up a committee to study the problems of old age. T h e main type of work in which the Gerontological Society is engaged is the organization of meetings, some of which deal with social gerontology.
ITALY
T h e Italian Gerontological Association (Associazione Gerontologica ItalianaAGEI, 8 via Piatti, Milan) is concerned with discovering and applying the best methods of assisting the aged, particularly in old people's homes. This organization, headed by M r . E . Vigorelli, has a section dealing more particularly with social problems. It publishes a bi-monthly magazine under the title of Longevit.
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Not very m u c h research is being done, but mention must be m a d e of the recent establishment of the Centre de Grontologie Claude Bernard (i i, rue Chardon-Lagache, Paris-16e), headed by Professor Bourlire. This centre is making a careful study of the process of ageing with particular reference to the influence of social or occupational factors. A division of the Institut National d'tudes Dmographiques (23, avenue Franklin-Roosevelt, Paris-8e) is concerned with the demographic and economic aspects of ageing and is helping to draw u p programmes of action for the benefit of the aged. T h e Institut National de la Statistique et des tudes conomiques (19, quai Branly, Paris-7e) has frequently drawn attention to the influence of age on certain aspects of economic life (housing, consumption). It possesses essential documentation, as it is responsible for the censuses. In 1961, it carried out a large-scale survey on the living conditions of the elderly population in the Paris region. T h e purpose of the Bureau d'tudes Administratives of the Public Assistance Administration (in charge of hospitals and social welfare work in the Department of the Seine) is to study the health and economic situation of old people, m a n y of w h o m receive assistance from this administration or are accommodated in its establishments. In view of the scope of the problem of ageing in France, the Government set u p a special commission, under the chairmanship of M r . Laroque, to work out the basis for a policy for the old. This commission presented its reports in January 1962. During the eighteen months that it studied the problem, it questioned about 100 organizations and heard representatives of several of them (including the trade union federations). It also had the French Institute of Public Opinion carry out two surveys, the results of which were recently published in a special volume. Even though not all its recommendations have been endorsedfar from it!the Laroque C o m mission's report nevertheless provided documentary material of a sort not previously available in France and a n e w basis for further thought. T h e Ministry of Public Health and Population is always at liberty to consult the French Comit National de la Vieillesse, composed of M e m b e r s of Parliament, representatives of Government departments, social welfare bodies, trades unions and old people's associations, together with a few specialists. T h e Socit Franaise de Grontologie (Paris) and the provincial societies (Aix, Bordeaux, etc.) are also concerned with organizing interdisciplinary meetings on subjects relating to old age and the policy to be followed in this connexion.
JAPAN F o m the large amount of material supplied by Japan it would appear that most of the work undertaken in that country is in the medical field; it
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should b e noted, however, that the J a p a n Gerontological Society ( N i p p o n R o n e n Shakai K a g a k u - K a i , 1235 2 - c h o m e , Soshigaya, Setagaya-ku, T o k y o ) has as its C h a i m a n Professor S a d a m u W a t a n a b e . This is a learned society with a m e m b e r s h i p of 102 specialists, publishing a m o n t h l y bulletin (Rnenbyo); since 1959, it has organized a n annual general conference. T h e Research Institute for Nuclear M e d i c i n e a n d Biology, Hiroshima University, has carried out social a n d medical investigations o n aged survivors of the atomic explosions w h i c h destroyed that city.
The socio-economic relevance of, and some further points about, management education In highly industrialized as in developing countries increased attention is being given to the continued availability of qualitatively a n d quantitatively adequate managerial m a n p o w e r in various spheres of society as one vital factor in assuring balanced socio-economic growth. This concern is doubtless in part a result of analyses of processes of growth in a n u m b e r of countries. ,It is reflected in a n increasing number of publications of very divergent quality on a great variety of subjects and in multifarious efforts in education and research designed to promote the development of various categories of managers. Underlying these efforts appear to be at least three fundamental considerations, implicit or explicit: (a) Whereas a n u m b e r of managers have sufficient innate ability to enable t h e m to carry managerial responsibilities even at the highest level without m u c h formal education of any kind, the actual number of these managers falls altogether short of the needs for various categories of managerial manpower, (b) It is possible to help a limited n u m b e r of people in their formal education and continued development in such a w a y that they m a y become managers (a large majority of people are not potential managers). This, in turn, presupposes that a number of aspects of management are accessible to scientific investigation, (c) Leaving aside the question whether management is an art or a science, and whether or not it is becoming a profession, it seems certain that the requirements to be met by managers n o w , and even more so in the future, are such that it will become increasingly difficult in m a n y instances to meet these requirements without a considerable amount of formal pre-employment education and subsequent development. This is not the place to argue these points in any detail. If the above contentions are accepted it seems fully justified to say that various forms and phases of m a n a g e ment education deserve special attention. T h e advancement in knowledge, insight and skills in thefieldof management and management education and development has, unfortunately, not always kept pace with the rapid proliferation of educational activities in a number of countries. This statement should be interpreted as an encouragement to increase the required
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knowledge, etc., rather than to abandon substantial educational efforts owing to their inadequacy. M a n a g e m e n t education and development m a y be approached from at least two points of view : the great variety of needs for these efforts, and the provision of the very numerous services required in this field. With regard to thefirstpoint it should be noted o n the one hand that evolving a balanced m a n a g e m e n t development programmebased on and related to organizational structure, phase of growth, etc., of, for example, the individual enterpriseis an essential prerequisite for succesful educational activities. O n the other hand, since education is by definition concerned with meeting future needs, as are certainly university studies for possible future managerial responsibilities, defining the needs for management education and translating these needs into teaching and research activities can never be exclusively the responsibility of business, industry, etc. Those offering educational facilities also have a role to play in this. W i t h regard to the second point, it is obvious that, depending on a n u m b e r of factors which cannot be enumerated here, the role of the institutions active in management education and development varies greatly. Universities and comparable institutions, employers associations, m a n a g e m e n t consultants, management associations, international organizations of various kinds and some, if relatively few, individual enterprises, all take a greater or lesser part in these activities. There are very few countries where a reasonable degree of systematic co-ordination of the contributions of relevant bodies has been or even is being achieved. Objectives of the IUC; terminology In general terms, the I U C aims at the improvement and promotion of all kinds of management education, including research, at university level, and at the cooperation between those w h o have responsibilities for this education. This implies the development of activities appropriate to contribute to all those efforts designed to meet needs for management education in quantitatively and qualitatively adequate ways. M o r e specifically, the I U C aims at encouraging those w h o have responsibilities for management education and research at university level to: (a) establish personal and other contacts on both an individual and an institutional basis, e.g. between university and industry; (b) m a k e optimal use of what has already been thought out and practised elsewhere; and (c) to further develop their educational and/or research activities, with a view to introducing n e w ideas, experimenting with n e w teaching methods, etc. T h e I U C is an international non-profit organization, exclusively pursuing these non-partisan objectives and is not linked with any sectional interests. M a n a g e m e n t education at university level is taken to comprise all formal educational activities in various phases (pre-employment and post-experience) of potential or actual managers. University level refers to the level of the educational activity concerned and to the level of the m a n a g e m e n t function, in the case of post-experience education. M a n a g e m e n t education at university level involves: (a) university studies undergraduate, graduate and post-graduateeither partly or wholly concerned with business and public administration or management; (b) external and internal management development programmes at various levels for actual managers; (c)research relevant for the expansion of management as a field of knowledge, a field of application and a field of teaching. Special mention should be m a d e of research where management is studied from the integrated points of view of various disciplines, such as economics, sociology, psychology, law and engineering. In addition to formal educational accomplishments, personal qualifications and experiences, social background, etc., obviously are very important factors in attaining a certain level in management.
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Membership of the IUC Started in 1952 as a very small and informal group of university professors responsible for teaching industrial organization and comparable subjects, for the most part university engineering departments and institutes of technology, the I U C has grown considerably in scope and numbers. It began a more formalized existence in 1956, and its present members n u m b e r well over 400; a m o n g them are university teachers and research workers from various faculties; comparable experts from other educational institutions and individual industries; management consultants and others having an indirect or a direct interest in management education. S o m e seventy institutions (universities, industrial firms, etc.) are also m e m b e r s of the I U C . Understandably membership is at present limited chiefly to highly industrialized countries : "management education in most developing countries is at the beginning stage. Membership is, however, open to all those w h o are prepared to support its aims, and indeed the I U C has recently taken some measures to extend its usefulness, particularly for developing countries. International activities During the years a n u m b e r of activities have been evolved, related to the realization of the aims of the I U C . These activities m a y be summarized as follows: 1. International conferences designed to enable m e m b e r s to discuss problems of c o m m o n concern and to learn from each other's experiences. Specific problems are studied, such as managerial controls; recent development in management education and research in various countries; use of quantitative data in management education; evaluation of management education activities; co-operation between universities and business/industry in connexion with the various phases of management education and development; teaching the process of management, with special reference to co-ordination and integration of various aspects of this process (see announcement for 1963 conference in v o l . X V , N o . 2 , of this journal). 2. Seminars on special subjects, such as non-directive teaching methods; research in the field of management; the teaching and research uses of so-called business games; and, in preparation, methodological aspects of m a n a g e m e n t education in developing countries. 3. Bibliography of some 350 case-studies, mainly European, supplemented regularly. A similar service has been started with regard to business games. 4 . U n d e r the auspices of the I U C and in co-operation with other international organizations, a bi-monthly multilingual review, Management International, has been published since 1961 addressed to both scientists and practising managers. Contains a bibliography, of relevant recent publications and carries news items about I U C and other organizations. 5. Publication of conference papers and reports, and occasionally other papers. 6. Compilation of a list of m e m b e r s of I U C giving data on teachers and other experts in thefieldof management education:fieldof specialization, publications, etc. 7. Maintenance of a lending library with a collection of some four thousand volumes and some one hundred journals, referred to in the bibliography of Management International. A large number of programmes of universities, etc., are available, and also information on specified subjects, research projects, study-trips, etc. For several years a comparative investigation has been carried out in a number of countries, of various aspects of management education and research at university level. This project has a threefold aim: (a) collecting and analysing information on data and ideas which m a y be helpful to members of I U C in their work and to others working in the same field; (b) contributing to increased knowledge of relevant educational problems and propagating educational experiments and the like; (c) stimulating, advising on, |and co-operation withas m u c h as possiblecomparable research work in other places. Reference m a y be m a d e here to a separate
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contribution to this journal o n the subject of the research work of the I U C . All of the above services are primarily, though not exclusively, for the benefit of the institutional m e m b e r s ; some of these services are provided for personal m e m b e r s , notably conferences, seminars and Management International. National activities T h e aims of the I U C as an international organization can only be realized to the full if appropriate activities are developed at a national level. In each country the group of m e m b e r s of I U C m a y have the following tasks: i. T o achieve national co-operation between teachers in the field of m a n a g e m e n t education and research at university level. 2. T o perform scientific work, a m o n g other things as a preparation for and followu p of international exchange of views. 3. T h e representation of management education at university level in relation to other institutions such as government, national productivity centres and n o n university education institutes in this field. 4. T h e furtherance of co-operation between university and industry in order to achieve a fruitful interplay between theory and practice. 5. B y all these activities to contribute to the development of m a n a g e m e n t education in the h o m e country as well as to support I U C as an authoritative international organization in this field. Co-operation with other international organizations In connexion with Management International, mention was m a d e of co-operation with other international bodies concerned with management education. With most of these the I U C has regular contacts in the European Liaison Committee for M a n agement Education and Development ( E L C ) . T h e present m e m b e r s of this committee are, in alphabetical order: the European Association of M a n a g e m e n t Training Centres; the European Committee of the International Committee of Scientific M a n a g e m e n t ; the European Federation of M a n a g e m e n t Consultants Associations; the International Labour Office through its M a n a g e m e n t Development Service; the I U C ; the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, through its Productivity Division; T h e Institute of M a n a g e m e n t Science. T h e purposes of the committee are to provide for regular exchange of information between the m e m b e r s ; to ensure the continued examination of possibilities for co-operation a n d the avoidance of duplication; to arrive at a n optimal use of the available limited resources both financial and in respect of 'personnel. W h e r e occasionally international co-operation is m o r e talked about than acted upon, the m e m b e r s of the E L C feel they should systematically promote relevant forms of co-operation in matters of management education, including research. Recently, Unesco, through its Department of Social Sciences, and I U C arranged for regular mutual exchange of information. Further forms of co-operation with Unesco, and indeed other appropriate international organizations, m a y be envisaged for the future.
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A scientific institute to conduct research into the causes and prevention of war was established in Canada in the fall of 1962, with a full-time staff of physical and social scientists. It has been incorporated as a non-political and non-governmental body for objective study and is headed b y internationally k n o w n scientists and humanitarians w h o are convinced that science, which aided mankind to forge the instruments of war, can aid the development of a world at peace. Directors include D r . Brock Chisholm, former Director-General of the World Health Organization; D r . H u g h L . Keenleyside, former Director-General of the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration; D r . Franc R . Joubin, geologist and world authority on uranium mining; and Gerard Pelletier, editor of La Presse, the largest French newspaper in North America. T h e venture was proposed by D r . N o r m a n Alcock, a nuclear physicist of Oakville, O n t . , w h o three years ago abandoned a career in industrial research to arouse public interest in the need for research for peace. Directors of the institute hope that formation of the Canadian Peace Research Institute will inspire people of other countries to establish similar peace research centres in their o w n countries for the exchange and mutual use of scientific data towards the prevention of nuclear war. T h e p r o g r a m m e calls for establishment of both the Canadian Peace Research Institute and an International Peace Research Fundthe latter to tangibly encourage establishment of institutes in as m a n y countries as possible. T h e directors plan to have twenty-five full-time scientists working at the Canadian establishment in 1963. T h e y hope that one thousand scientists will be engaged on w a r elimination research in institutes in m a n y nations by 1965. ' W e go o n preparing for w a r with billions of dollars, while w e appropriate pennies for peace research', Alcock says. ' W h e n m a n has faced other problems and wanted a solution, he has put intensive effort, m o n e y and minds into research; and he usually finds answers. For example, consider the effort which went into conquering polio, making atomic and hydrogen b o m b s , improving labour-management relations. Organized intellectual effortscientific research, applied to peace and war, could also help us find solutions.' In his blueprint for scientific peace research, The Bridge of Reason, which sold 20,000 copies in recent months, D r . Alcock proposed that the institutes be independent of their national governments and of each other but that they must have the confidence and support of their governments iffindingswere to be implemented. H e proposed they use no classified data so that all findings could be freely c o m municated between institutes, national governments and the United Nations. T h e Canadian Institute and the International F u n d are seeking $2 million from the Canadian public and plan to ask similar support from the Canadian Government over the next four years. A r o u n d $250,000 has been subscribed already by some 22,000 Canadian citizens. Committees have been formed in cities across the country to raise the remainder of the public contribution in the fall. It is planned to locate the institute on a university campus site. A t present the offices of the institute are at 341 Bloor Street West, Toronto, O n t .
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T h e Social Science Council of Brazil was set u p for the purpose of co-ordinating social science activities in Brazil, its efforts being essentially directed towards instituting a more rational and effective division of spheres of competence and work. U n d e r its statutes, the council, which is a non-governmental organization, groups the following foundation m e m b e r s : Social Sciences Institute of the University of Brazil; Policy and Sociology School of the Catholic University of Rio d e Janeiro; Brazilian Centre for Educational Research; Public L a w and Political Science Institute of the Getulio Vargas Foundation; Institute of Economics of the Guanabara State University; Latin American Centre for Research in Social Sciences (Unesco); National Service for Commercial Apprenticeship; National Council for Statistics; M o v e m e n t for Brazilian Folklore Defence; and Project and M e c h a n o graphic Analysis Society. T h e council's a i m is to rationalize and co-ordinate existing means of action, and to bring the appropriate knowledge to bear on urgent national problems. Its work programme is the responsibility of the governing body, which consists of the President, Professor Themistocles Cavalcanti, two Vice-Presidents, Professors Evaristo de Moris F . and M . Digues Jr., and four members. Administrative questions are handled by a Secretary-General. T w o specialized commissions, composed of persons selected from a m o n g the m e m b e r institutions, deal with the co-ordination of the council's activities and with questions of documentation respectively. T h e council has set itself the following main tasks: 1. T o maintain permanent liaison between the institutions concerned with the various social sciences disciplines, and to ensure m o r e effective co-operation between them as regards exchanges of information and documentation. 2. Whenever necessary, to co-ordinate the studies and research work undertaken by its various m e m b e r s , and, in concert with them, to study projects susceptible of joint execution and distribute the work accordingly. 3. T o recommend, promote and carry out research work designed to produce solutions to problems arising in thefieldof social sciences in Brazil. 4. T o promote the training of research workers at Brazilian universities, and to collaborate with professors of social sciences in securing the resources necessary for carrying out the various projects undertaken b y them, in the light of the requirements experienced in thefieldof research. 5. T o see that each professional group enjoys the respect and support necessary to ensure the status and prestige of the social science. 6. T o stimulate seminar research and advanced training course activities in the field of social sciences, and to inform the public of the results thus obtained b y publishing reports, monographs, etc., so as to m a k e the requirements of the social sciences better k n o w n in Brazil and to promote their development. 7. T o ensure permanent liaison with national and international social science bodies. T h e Social Sciences Council of Brazil has applied for affiliation to the International Social Science Council, in Paris.
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In addition, it is authorized to receive donations and bequests, and to use funds derived from the payment of entrance fees to historical monuments. T h e institute consists of seventeen departments, including Pre-Hispanic M o n u ments, Colonial M o n u m e n t s , the National School of Anthropology and History (founded in 1938), the National M u s e u m of Anthropology, the National M u s e u m of History, the Restoration Department, the Art-Treasures Cataloguing Department, the Historical Research Department, archives and laboratories. In addition, it acts as a consultative body o n such matters as the classification of buildings as historical monuments, the preservation of m o n u m e n t s and sites, and the granting of building permits or demolition orders. T h e institute also has a n extensive library. T h e steady rise in the institute's budget (over $22 million in 1962 as against $597,476 in 1939) and in the number of staff employed (848 in 1961, as against 298 in 1939) is evidence of the institute's growth. It is n o w responsible for some 11,000 archaeological sites, most of which it administers itself, and also for the preservation of eighty-one archaeological areas. In 1962, excavations were m a d e in twelve areas, mainly in Yucatn, Chiapas and Oaxaca. As regards the National School which comes within its orbit a total of 246 candidates (180 Mexicans and 66 foreigners, 28 of w h o m held O A S scholarships) took the entrance examinations in February 1962. S o m efiftyclasses are conducted in various subjects every semester, twelve of them by guest-professors. In the field of socio-cultural anthropology, the school conducts research work and provides instruction in anthropology, ethnology, linguistics and psychology, special attention being paid to the study of social problems arising in agricultural areas and the task of establishing an anthropological archives service. The Historical Research Department is responsible for micro-filming various collections of archives, and concentrates o n studying the history of the indigenous peoples. T h e M u s e u m of Anthropology, whose collections comprise 6,343 items, received over 200,000 visitors in 1962 while another 600,000 visited the M u s e u m of History. A total of 26 institute publications were issued in 1962 in over 100,000 copies. Apart from the above activities, the institute supervises thirty-three regional m u s e u m s which it assists b y giving advice on museographical subjects, organizing travelling exhibitions, etc. T h e educational side of the institute's work includes the provision of museological training for primary school teachers and secondary school pupils, some of w h o m are employed as guides or curators in regional m u s e u m s . A total of 4,923 primary school teachers and 160,148 secondary school pupils attended institute courses in 1962.
T h e Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs maintains three programmes related to rural economic and cultural development in Asia. T h e largest programme is intended to help Asian scholars and administrators increase their competence to deal with problems of rural development. T h e council has done this primarily through making available visiting professors of agricultural economics or rural sociology to faculties of agricultural economics in Asian universities. These visiting professors have been either associates of the council or on leave
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from American universities. Since 1954, visiting professors have been attached for periods varying from one to six years at National T a i w a n University, Taipei, Taiwan; C h u n g Hsing Provincial University, Taichung. Taiwan; College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Philippines; National College of Agriculture, Bao Loe, Viet-Nam; Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand; University of Malaya, Kuala L u m p u r and Singapore; University of North Sumatra, M e d a n , Indonesia; Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Indonesia, Bogor. Visiting professors have helped these institutions undertake research and improve their instruction in agricultural economics, rural sociology, and community development. T h e council has m a d e a n u m b e r of grants in support of agricultural economics research and to support meetings concerned with agricultural economics. O f particular note are a group of related grants in Japan to encourage empirical studies of agriculture. These have been m a d e to University of Tokyo, National Research Institute of Agriculture and the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Tokyo; Kyushu University; Hokkaido University; Tottori University; and Kyoto University. Other grants have been m a d e in both East and West Pakistan, and to encourage research in rural problems in the countries where C E C A visiting professors have worked. T h e council programme to increase recognition of cultural values in Asia has concentrated on grants. A m o n g these are grants to the English Language Training Center, Tokyo; to the East-West Music Encounter, Tokyo, 1961; and assistance for the purpose of bringing a Japanese h o m e to N e w York, for exhibition at the M u s e u m of M o d e r n Art. A programme newly-established through a Ford Foundation grant aims at furthering knowledge of agricultural development. It will make grants to American and other universities for research on problems of agricultural development in low-income countries. A major objective of the p r o g r a m m e will be to broaden the range of universities undertaking research on rural development problems by supporting research to be carried out by one or several persons at the same institution w h o will at the same time continue with their other research interests. Another part of the programme is intended to develop complete sets of course outlines and teaching materials for use in training middle-level administrators in low-income countries in agricultural development, agricultural credit and marketing, rural land tenure, and related subjects. In support of all three of these major programmes, the council has established a fellowship programme. A s of January 1963, 131 fellowships had been awarded to scholars, administrators and artists of nine Asian countries. Fellowships m a y be awarded to support graduate study abroad in agricultural economics or rural sociology; for travel to observe research, teaching, and operating programmes; or for visits to centres of artistic endeavour to enrich artistic skills. Fellowships are awarded only to nationals of the countries where C E C A ' has programmes. All recipients must agree to return to their homes u p o n completion of their fellowship, and their employers must agree to accept them back at their former positions of responsibility or closely related positions. T h e council publishes from time to time papers and reprints of materials of interest to professional agricultural economists and rural sociologists concerned with Asian problems. It also distributes other publications which it considers to be of general interest to the people with w h o m it works. A list of available publications has been prepared for those interested. A Newsletter reports at intervals on Council activities. C E C A was founded in 1953 by John D . Rockefeller III. Its staff" includes the executive director and seven associates in agricultural economics and community development. During the 1962-63 academic year five visiting professors were sent on short-term appointments to Asia under the p r o g r a m m e . Correspondence regarding C E C A m a y be addressed to D r . A . T . Mosher, Executive Director.
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The status pf permanent sovereignty over natural wealth and resources. October 1962, xii + 245 p . (A/AC.97/5/REV.2) [Ej. Pr. D p . ] This volume contains a s u m m a r y of the national laws concerning the right of foreigners or foreign enterprises to control and exploit natural resources. It also describes the m a i n provisions of international agreements relating to the same subject, with particular reference to the n e w States. Case. law.
TERRITORIES UNDER PORTUGUESE ADMINISTRATION
Some measures relating to the Territories under Portuguese administration promulgated January ig6i. October 1962,40 p. (A/AC.108/L.5) [Pr.] This document, prepared by the Secretariat of the United Nations, describes the measures recently adopted by the Portuguese Government with the object of promoting racial integration in its overseas territories. Their possible consequences. Analysis of the reforms already introduced. Legislative measures of an economic and social nature. A supplement (A/AC.108/L.5 A D D . I , 92 p . , including annex) reproduces the text of the measures in question. Mozambique, October 1962, 73 p . , m a p . ( A / A C . I O 8 / L . 8 ) Portuguese Guinea, October 1962, 43 p . (A/AC.108/L.9) Cape Verde, November 1962, 43 p . , including annex, m a p . ( A / A C . I O 8 / L . I O ) Sao Tom and Principe, N o v e m b e r 1962, 29 p . , m a p . ( A / A C . I O 8 / L . I I ) Macao, December 1962, 40 p . ( A / A G . I O 8 / L . I 2 ) Timor, December 1962, 37 p . (A/AC.108/L.13) [Ej. Pr. D p . St.] Each of these documents describes the situation of the Territory concerned from the demographic, political, economic and educational points of view.
1. Generally speaking, n o mention is m a d e of publications and documents issued more or less automaticallyregular administrative reports, proceedings of meetings, etc. 2. For explanation of abbreviations, see page 487.
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TRUSTEESHIP C O U N C I L
Trusteeship Council. Resolutions. 1962, iii + 11 p . , $0.35 (T/I 602) [Ej. Pr. Org.] Resolutions adopted b y the Trusteeship Council at its 29th session. T h e y concern, in particular, working methods and procedure, as well as the reports of the Visiting Mission to the Trust Territories of N a u r u and N e w Guinea. Report on Nauru. 1962, iv + 31 p . , $0.50 (T/I 603) [Ej. Pr. St.] Report submitted to the Trusteeship Council b y the Visiting Mission to the Trust Territory of N a u r u ( 1962). Description of the administration and general e c o n o m y of this Territory. Problem of the reinstallation of the population. Participation of the natives in public life.
E C O N O M I C A N D SOCIAL C O U N C I L
DISCRIMINATION, MINORITIES
Commission on Human Rights (Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) : Study of discrimination in respect of the right of everyone to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. N o v e m b e r 1962, 153 p . , including annexes (E/CN.4/SUB./2/220) [Ej. Pr. D p . ] This report, submitted b y M r . Jos D . Ingles, gives an account of the historical background of this right, a n d of the national and international measures adopted to give effect to it. T h e report goes on to analyse the causes of its violations and attempts to estimate their frequency. Commission on Human Rights (Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities): Protection of minorities. D e c e m b e r 1962, 16 p . , including annex.
(E/CN.4/SUB.2/221)
[Ej. Pr. O r g . ] This m e m o r a n d u m , submitted b y the Secretary-General of the United Nations, lists and classifies the special international measures adopted in favour of ethnic, religious and linguistic groups.
POPULATION, STATISTICS
Report of the Preparatory Committee for the Asian Population Conference. N o v e m b e r 1962, 25 p . (E/cN.9/175) [Ej. Pr. Org.] This report proposes the following agenda for the Conference, which is to take place in N e w Delhi in D e c e m b e r 1963: demographic situation in Asia and the Far East and its future evolution; economic and social consequences of these population trends; measures for ensuring a better use of h u m a n resources; m e a n s of influencing population trends; development of research; training of specialists; dissemination of demographic knowledge. List of documents the preparation of which is r e c o m m e n d e d b y the Committee. Seminar on population problems in Africa (Cairo, 2g October to 10 November 196s). A series of documents ( E / C N . I 4 / A S P P / G . I et seqq. a n d E / C N . 14/ASPP/L. 1 et seqq.) [Pr. Ej. D p . St.] S o m e thirty papers were prepared for this seminar. T h e y are technical documents for limited distribution. S o m e of t h e m give an account of the developm e n t of demographic statistics in the different African countries. Others analyse the trends in the evolution of the population of these countries, migratory m o v e m e n t s , urbanization, distributions of the professions, etc. These 'documents are supplemented by others dealing with methodological questions (demographic analyses and general planning, utilization of sample surveys, educational planning) and with the professional training of the statisticians needed b y Africa.
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Report on the Twelfth Session of the Statistical Commission (24 April to 10 May ig62), 1962, 24 p., $0.35 (E/3633) [Ej. Pr. Org.] A general survey of the activities of the United Nations and Specialized Agencies in the sphere of statistics. Recommendations.
Bibliography of African statistical publications. April 1962, xii + 206 p. ( E / C N . 14/112) [Pr. Bl. D p . ] A listas comprehensive as possibleof statistical publications relating to the various African countries. This bibliography does not, however, include non-periodical publications issued before 1930, or periodical publications which ceased to appear before 1950. T h e publications are classified by country and by subject.
SCIENCE APPLIED T O D E V E L O P M E N T
United Nations Conference on the Application of Science and Technology for the Benefit o the Less Developed Areas. Programme and information bulletin. 1963, 152 p . ( E / C O N F .
3g/INF. 2 / R E V . I )
[Pr. Org.] This particularly important conference surveyed the recent advances m a d e in the various sectors of science and technology, from the point of view of the benefit which the developing countries might derive therefrom. Specialists of international renown explained their ideas o n the subject, while a n u m b e r of other experts sent in reports. T h e above-mentioned booklet describes the aims and organization of the conference. A brief m e m o r a n d u m o n its p r o g r a m m e has also been published by the United Nations Secretariat, (opi/105, 19 p., 1962.)
United Nations Conference on the Application of Science and Technology for the Benefi of the Less Developed Areas. List of papers. January 1963, 360 p. (E/CONF.39/1NF.3) [Ej. Pr. Sc. St. O r g . Bl. D p . ] A large n u m b e r of papers were sent in. T h e y are listed in this publication (title of paper, n a m e and designation of its author), and classified by subjects, in the following order: A . Natural resources (389 papers o n traditional sources of energy and nuclear energy, water resources, factories, fuel, d a m s and generating stations, prospecting). B . H u m a n resources (76 papers on population trends, vocational training, business management, employment policy, conditions of work). C . Agriculture (517 papers o n land reform, agricultural loans, co-operatives, commercialization, dissemination of knowledge in rural areas, m a n a g e m e n t of agricultural concerns, irrigation, rotation of crops, plant and animal genetics, stock farming, dairying, agricultural machines, forestry, fishing). D . Industrial development (196 papers on matters relating to thefinancing,structure and siting of industries, handicrafts, the different types of product). E . Transport (108 papers on transport by rail, road, water and air). F . Health and nutrition (147 papers on public health services, hygiene, remedies, medicine, training of health officers, medical research, food). G . Social problems resulting from development and urbanization (61 papers on the parcelling out of land and town-planning, community development). H . Organization, planning and programming of economic development (98 papers on planning methods, national and regional planning experiments, economic statistics). I. Organization and planning of policy in scientific and technical matters (50 papers on the relationship between progress in knowledge and progress in practical applications, the formulation and organization of research programmes, dissemination of the results). J. International co-operation and questions of transfer and adaptation (90 papers on ways of encouraging international exchanges likely to speed u p progress, technical assistance and expert missions).
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K . Training of scientific and technical staff (99 papers on the various aspects of the problem of the shortage of scientific and technical staff, appropriate training for such staff, the n e w conceptions of primary, secondary and higher education, the place of science and technology in the curriculum). L . Communications (79 papers on telecommunications as factors making for unification and development, their function in the less developed areas, educational broadcasts, n e w techniques of transmission and reception). SPECIAL FUND FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Governing Council of the Special Fund. Report on 'its 8th session, 21-2$ May 1962. 1962, 14 p . , $0.35. (E/3646/REV.1) [Ej. Pr. Org.] Study of the Fund's activities. Programme recommended for the forthcoming period. Annual report of the Managing Director of the Special Fund for 1961. June 1962, 69 p . , including annexes. (E/3650) [Ej. Pr. D p . Org.] General survey of the Special Fund's activities in 1961. Detailed statement of contributions and other income. List of the n e w projects approved. List of experts engaged in Special Fund projects. Value of project equipment ordered by country of procurement, as at 31 December ig6i. BUDGETARY TECHNIQUES AND PLANNING Economic Commission for Latin America: Report of the Workshop on Budgetary Classification and Management in South America} Santiago, Chile, 3-14 September 1962. 1962, iii + 62 p . (E/CN.12/634/REV.1) [Ej. Pr. D p . ] T h e purpose of this meeting w a s to consider changes in conception and procedure that might profitably be adopted in connexion with the establishment of the budgetary systems of the South American countries, so as to facilitate planning. The Workshop also reviewed the progress m a d e in thisfieldsince 1959. WATER RESOURCES Water Resources Development Centre. Second biennial report. 1962, 25 p., $0.35. (E/3587) [Ej. Pr. Org.] This report describes the development of the centre's work over the past two years. T h e main factors determining this development. Projects. COMMODITIES United Nations Wheat Conference: 1962. 1962, v + 41 p . , $0.75. (E/coNF.38/9) [Ej. Pr. D p . ] A n account of the work of the United Nations W h e a t Conference, which took place in Geneva from 31 January to 10 M a r c h 1962. S u m m a r y records of the plenary meetings. Text of the International W h e a t Convention of 1962 and of various resolutions. International Coffee Agreement, 1962. October 1962, 52 p., including annexes, ( E / C O N F . 42/7) [Ej. Pr.] Text of the Convention adopted at the n t h plenary meeting of the United Nations Coffee Conference. Export quotas by country are given in an annex. Economic Commission for Africa Commodity Stabilization Meeting, Lagos, 30 July to 7 August 1962. A series of documents, ( E / C N . 14/STC/CS/1-20) [Ej. Pr. D p . St.] S o m e twenty papers on trends in the production, exchange and consumption of cotton, natural and synthetic fibres, rubber, coffee, ground-nuts, palm-oil and agricultural produce in general. Policy to be followed so as to stabilize
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as far as possible those branches of the African economy which depend most directly on the market for these commodities. Latin American timber trends and prospects. 1962, xiv + 362 p . ( E / C N . 12/624) [Ej. Pr. D p . St] T h e purpose of this study, covering the whole of Latin America, is to estimate the quantitative consumption of forest products and, hence, the production requirements, in the light of the population and social changes likely to take place. Recommendations for planners.
MINES
Mining developments in Asia and the Far East, ig6o. 1962, viii + 85 p . , m a p s , tables,
$1.50 ( E / C N . 11/596)
[Dp. Ej. Pr. St.] This report is in two parts. T h efirstdescribes the development of production b y substances (coal, petroleum, natural gas, metals, sulphur, etc.); the second deals with mining activities in the various countries , (Afghanistan, Borneo, B u r m a , C a m b o d i a , Ceylon, China (Taiwan), H o n g K o n g , India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Laos, Federation of Malaya, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Republic of V i e t - N a m ) . N u m e r o u s m a p s and statistics.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
Committee for Industrial Development. Report of the second session, 5-28 March
1962,41 p . , $0.50. (E/C.5/23/REV.1) (E/3600/REV.1)
ig62.
[Ej. Pr. Org.] Study of United Nations activities in connexion with industrialization. Industrialization trends and problems in the developing countries.
TRADE
Economic Commission for Africa: Report of thefirstsession of the Standing Committee on Trade, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 12-30 September ig62. 1962, 49 p . , including annexes. (E/0N.14/174) [Ej. Pr. O r g . Bl.] Discussions o n the trade relations of African countries between themselves and with the other continents; the development of internal trade in the various countries of this region; the stabilization of commodity prices. Recent developments in African trade. August 1962, iv + 82 p . ( E / C N . ' I 4 / S T C / 2 ) [Dp. Ej. Pr. St.] This report, submitted by the Standing Committee on Trade of the Economic Commission for Africa, consists mainly of statistical tables relating to the internal and foreign trade of the following countries and territories: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, U p p e r Volta, D a h o m e y , Guinea, T o g o , Sierra Leone, G h a n a , Nigeria, C a m e r o o n , Equatorial Customs Union, Congo (capital Leopold ville), Angola, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Republic of South Africa, East-African Customs Union, Tanganyika, U g a n d a , K e n y a , Malagasy Republic, Ethiopia. Problems involved in the statistical determination of trade trends in Africa. Recent developments and trends in Latin American trade with the European Economic Community. September 1962, iii + 88 p . ( E / C N . 12/631) [Ej. Pr. D p . St.] Brings out the importance, for Latin America, of its trade with the European Economic C o m m u n i t y . Obstacles to this trade. Problems discussed at the G A T T Conference.
The achievement of co-ordination in Latin American trade policy; relations with the Europ Economic Community. August 1962, iv + 125 p . ( E / C N . 12/632) [Ej. Pr. St. D p . ] This report, submitted by a group of consultants, contains analyses
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and recommendations concerning the development of Latin American trade with Europe; it describes the obstacles in the w a y of this development, shows h o w they can be overcome and proposes recommendations for governments.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance. Administrative and operational services costs for 1963. October 1962, 39 p . ( E / T A c / n g ) [Ej. Pr. Org.] Draft budget prepared b y the Technical Assistance Board for the financial year 1963. Expected increase of activities and expenditure. Reasons for this increase. United Nations programme of technical assistance. October 1962, 214 p . ( E / T A C / I 2 O ) [Ej. Pr. Org.] Situation of the technical assistance programmes financed b y the regular budget. Requests already approved for the next period of implementation. Requests still under consideration. T h e programmes concern the following subjects: economic development; consultative functions in regard to social service; public administration; missions of experts for the execution, direction and administration of projects; consultative service in regard to h u m a n rights; measures to combat the misuse of narcotics. Methods of evaluation of the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance. N o v e m b e r
1962, 13 p . ( E / T A C / I 2 2 )
[Ej. Pr. Org.] T h e evaluation of the effects of technical assistance in relation to the different aspects of national programmes of economic and social development presents great difficulties. W a y s of overcoming them. Question of indirect effects, ascribable to the daily influence of technical assistance o n the methods used in their activities by the population and the authorities and also o n their approach to those activities.
SECRETARIAT
MAPS A N D SURVEYS
Climatological maps and statistics to assist in the economic development of Iceland. 1961,
iv + 27 p . , fold. m a p . ( T A O / I C E / 3 )
[Ej. Pr.] Study concerning the preparation of precise documentary material o n precipitations and temperatures in Iceland. Land survey and land registration in Seychelles. M a r c h 1961, 100 p . , including 4 m a p s .
(TAO/SEY/I)
[Ej. Pr.] Function of a cadastral survey. Previous attempts. United Nations action. Suggestions for a bill and regulations concerning the survey.
STATISTICAL QUESTIONS
Conference of European statisticians. 1962, 37 p . , $0.35. (CONF.EUR.STAT./174) [Ej. Pr. Org.] Report of the tenth plenary session (15-19 October 1962). Recent decisions of the United Nations Statistical Commission and of other international statistical bodies. Reports o n current international statistical activities in Europe: consumers' expenditure, surveys on family budgests, indices of industrial production, agricultural statistics, population censuses, economic indicators, productivity, electronic processing of data, regional seminars. Future p r o g r a m m e .
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101 p . ( T A O
[Ej. Pr.] N e e d for a comprehensive plan. Financing possibilities. Analysis of certain aspects of governmental policy a n d of their influence o n industrial development. M a i n characteristics of an industrial development p r o g r a m m e applicable to this country. Some aspects of development programming in Indonesia. July 1961, 20 p . (TAo/iN/24) [Ej. Pr.] T h e m a i n purpose of this report is to describe the usefulness of a n atlas of Indonesian resources and the form it should take. This atlas would m a k e it possible to assemble a great deal of information which is at present dispersed a m o n g the various administrative services. T h e second part of the report deals with the usefulness of the national revenue accounts. A draft atlas is contained in the annex. Problems of regional development in India with special reference to the Himachal Pradesh Territory, the Punjab State and the Rourkela Area. July 1961, iv + 15 p . (TAo/iND/39) [Ej. Pr.] Outline of the administrative work performed in the areas under review in connexion with the implementation of the five-year plan, and study of the possibility of setting u p a heavy industry at Rourkela, in the State of Orissa.
URBANIZATION
Urban community development in East Pakistan. 1961, v + 6 4 p . ( T A O / P A K / 2 6 ) [Ej. Pr.] General principles of community development. Application to the towns of East Pakistan. Present situation. Future p r o g r a m m e s to be envisaged.
Public administration problems of new and rapidly growing towns in Asia. 1962, iii + 9 0 p . ,
$1. (ST/TAO/M/I8)
[Ej. Pr. D p . ] Trends and causes of the growth of towns. Nature of the n e w Asian towns. Their integration in their area. Planning a n dfinancingof their development. Description of typical cases (such as Delhi, Faridabad, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, K h u l n a and Hitachi).
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
The establishment of a community development centre in Greece, iii + 20 p . (TA0/GRE/15) [Ej. Pr.] Report prepared for the Greek G o v e r n m e n t by M r . Peter Kuenstler. Situation of existing communities. P r o g r a m m e proposed for purposes of the establishment of a community development centre.
AGRICULTURAL T R A D E
Ten years of agricultural trade in Europe, ig^i-igo. Recent trends and future prospects 1962, ii + 188 p . , including appendix, $ 2 . ( S T / E C E / A G R I / 8 ) [Ej. Pr. D p . St.] Trends in European trade with respect to the following c o m m o d ities: wheat, barley, maize, m e a t , butter, cheese, eggs, sugar, fresh fruit. Import matrices for each of these nine commodities. T h e import statistics of European countries have been used as basic data.
BUDGET TECHNIQUE
tude sur la situation budgtaire et sur l'organisation des servicesfinanciersdu Togo. Augu
1961, 61 p. ( T A O / T O G / 2 )
[Ej. Pr.] Budgetary situation of Togo at the time of its attainment of independence. 480
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Organization of the financial services of the n e w State. Recommendations conerning public expenditure and budgetary receipts of national origin.
MECHANIZATION OF AGRICULTURE
Mechanization of land clearance. 1962, 49 p., including illustrations, ( A G R I / M E C / 2 2 ) [Ej. Pr. D p . ] Methods for the mechanization of land clearance. Examples of land clearance projects carried out in the U . S . S . R . m o r e particularly in Siberiaas well as in Greece and Finland. Selection of the land; clearance; bringing under cultivation.
TRAFFIC
Traffic safety programme for Turkey. June 1961, iii + 80 p . (TAo/TUR/29) [Ej. Pr. St.] This publication begins by providing general information on traffic safety (with particular reference to road traffic) in Turkey; it goes on to define the problem, and discusses, the national safety p r o g r a m m e , the revision of the regulations, the administrative organization.
WIND POWER
Power from wind (Nile). July 1961, iv + 11 p . ( T A O / U A R / 9 ) [Ej. Pr] Report o n the use of wind power in the Nile delta (for the pumping of water, in particular), written by M r . E d w a r d W . Golding, an expert from the World Meteorological Organization.
SHIPBUILDING
Shipbuilding in the Philippines. April 1961, iv + 41 p . ( T A O / P H I / I O ) [Ej. Pr. Bl.] T h e purpose of this report is to show the advantages that the opening of shipyards in the Philippines would bring to the national economy.
PUBLIC OFFICIALS
Clerical training in Iran. February i960, vi + 32 p . ( T A O / I R A / 5 2 ) [Ej. Pr.] Report prepared for the Iranian Government by M r . A . Linsell. Background information on the United Nations programmes for the training of administrative staff in Iran. Present situation with regard to these programmes. R e c o m m e n dations.
INTERNATIONAL L A B O U R O R G A N I S A T I O N (ILO)
ECONOMIC A N D SOCIAL CHANGES, WAGES, UNEMPLOYMENT Unemployment and structural change. 1962, 206 p . , $ 2 . [Ej. Pr. D p . ] Various causes of structural change. Methods of adjustment. Effects on the workers. Reactions of the latter. Remedial measures adopted by employers to avoid a drop in the d e m a n d for their products. Role of the systems established by collective agreements to cope with a surplus of m a n p o w e r . Action by governments to assists the adaptation of workers.
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Trade, wages and employment in textiles. (International Labour Review). January 1963,
31 P[Ej. Pr. D p . St.] T h e purpose of this study is to determine, with the help of abundant statistical data, to what extent the fears aroused by the extensive changes introduced into the structure of the international trade in textiles are justified. National and international measures already adopted for the solution of this problem.
SOCIOLOGY A N D TOWN-PLANNING
The sociological approach in planning workers' housing; the experience of Czechoslov by Jiri Musil. {International Labour Review). December, 1962, 22 p . [Ej. Pr.] T h e author describes the efforts m a d e in Czechoslovakia to work out a long-term housing p r o g r a m m e calculated to meet specific requirements (technical, social and economic). Account is taken in these efforts of essential factors such as the structure and evolution of the family, probable changes in modes of living, the necessary independence of each family unit and of each of its m e m b e r s , a n d the necessary encouragement to participation by all in the social life of the local c o m m u nity.
INSURANCE, SOCIAL SECURITY, LABOUR HYGIENE
Benefits in the case of industrial accidents and occupational diseases. 1962, 172 p . , $ [Ej. Pr. D p . ] A study of the main trends in the practices of different countries, in preparation for a discussion which is to take place at the forty-seventh session of the International Labour Conference (1963). Hygiene in shops and offices. Geneva, 1962, 8g p . , $0.75. ]Ej. Pr. D p . ] A studysimilar to that mentioned above, but bearing on another subject.
Social security for migrant workers, by Fr. Netter. {International Labour Review). Januar 1963, 20 p . [Ej. Pr.] Detailed analysis of the provisions relating to migrant workers contained in the Convention o n Equal Treatment, adopted b y the International Labour Conference at its forty-sixth session (1962).
Agriculture in the world economy. 1962, 65 p . , $1. [Ej. Pr. D p . St.] Pamphlet, consisting largely of graphs and intended for the general public. Gives a picture of agricultural development. Production trends. Importance of this production as compared with the world's resources as a whole. Effect of the rapid increase in population. General introduction: number and size of holdings. World Agriculture Structure Study. N o . 1. 1961, 69 p . plus annexes. [Ej. Pr. St. D p . ] First publication in a series relating to the present agricultural situation. This study is based o n the substantial statistical data assembled b y various countries during the latest agricultural censuses. Tables showing the n u m b e r and size of holdings, preceded by a general introduction containing information o n the sources and processing of the data used.
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Land utilization. World Agriculture Structure Study, N o . 3. 1961, 56 p . N u m e r o u s graphs. (Ej. Pr. D p . St.] Utilisation of land as a whole. Division of land into three m a i n categories (arable land, pasture land, woods a n d forests). Correlations between land utilization and various climatological factors. Detailed analyses of land utilization. L a n d utilization according to the size of holdings. Changes between 1930 and 1950. Tentative conclusions. Six Billions to Feed. 1962,41 p . , $0.50. [Ej. Pr. St. D p . ] This pamphlet describes in simple terms the food problems entailed by the increase in the world's population. Spread of hunger throughout the world. W h a t the various peoples eat. T h e amount of food that is necessary.
AGRICULTURAL QUESTIONS
Crop production levels and fertilizer use. 1962,48 p . , $0.50. [Ej. Pr. D p . St. Bl.] This pamphlet is thefirstpublication issued in connexion with the fertilizer p r o g r a m m e of the campaign against hunger. T h e p r o g r a m m e comprises two m a i n parts: (a)fieldactivities, consisting in the conduct, in the open, of a large n u m b e r of experiments and demonstrations, in the developing countries; (b) studies on marketing and development, designed to determine the relationship between the use of fertilizers and various economic and social factors both national and international. T h e above-mentioned pamphlet is one of these studies. T h e effect of fertilizers on crops. National grain policies, ig2. N o . 4 . 1962, iog'p., $0.50. [Ej. Pr. D p . St.] Evolution of the grain situation in the following countries: Federal Republic of G e r m a n y , Austria, Belgium, Ecuador, Cambodia, D a h o m e y , Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, France, G a b o n , Iceland, Israel, Italy, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, N o r w a y , Peru, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United K i n g d o m , Yugoslavia, Canada, United States of America, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, India, Iran, Japan, Pakistan, R u m a n i a , Senegal, Czechoslovakia, Thailand, T o g o , Turkey, Republic of South Africa, Australia. T h e plan adopted for each country is as follows: measures concerning production and marketing, measures concerning consumption, measures concerning foreign trade. Forest influences. Forestry and Forest Products Studies. N o . 15. 1962, 307 p . , $ 3 . [Ej. Pr. D p . St. Bl.] This publication forms part of a study of all the aspects of a rational policy of land utilization. Role of forests in such a p r o g r a m m e . Forests are valuable not only in protecting the soil and the water rgime but also in producing clear waters and providing various economic resources. Commodity reports. Rice. No 13. August 1962, 36 p . , $0.50. [Ej. Pr. D p . St. Bl.] World situation according to the statistics available at 30 July 1962. Trends of the rice market in 1961. N e w developments in 1962. Long-term prospects. Bibliography on the production and marketing of rice. Pinus Radiata. Forestry and Forest Products Studies, N o 14. 1962, 328 p . , $3.50. [Dp. Ej. Pr. St.] This monograph concerns a tree which is especially valuable o n account of its rapid growth, its high production of w o o d both for sawn timber and for w o o d pulp, and its adaptability to arid lands. It has been introduced m o r e particularly into the countries of the southern hemisphere. Methods of cultivation. Results.
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Second report on the world health situation, igy-ig6o. 1963,318 p . , $2.75. [Ej. Pr. D p . St. Org.] M a i n features of the development of international co-operation in the field of medicine. Recent important medical discoveries. Their practical applications. T h e general part of this publication is followed b y brief analyses of the development of the health situation in 163 countries and territories.
STATISTICS
Epidemiological and vital statistics report. 1962. Vol. 15, N o . 11, 85 p . , $2.25; Vol. 15 N o . 12, 29 p., $1. [Ej. Pr. D p . St.] These two publications form part of a permanent statistical collection concerned with population changes and the incidence of the various diseases and causes of death, covering the whole world. N o . 11 contains in particular, recapitulatory articles on deaths caused by gastritis, duodenitis, enteritis and colitis (1950-60), and on the incidence of malignant tumours and influenza (1950-60); N o . 12 deals with the incidence of infectious hepatitis (1956-61).
MENTAL H E A L T H
The scope of epidemiology in psychiatry. 1962, 76 p . , $1. [Ej. Pr.] Study submitted b y Professor Tsung-yi Lin and M r s . C . C . Standley. Basing themselves on hospital statistics and the data of psychiatrical practice, the authors consider the mental morbidity of various populations, as well as the aetiology and evolution of psychic disease.
MISCELLANEOUS
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Nutrition. Technical Reports Series, N o . 245, 1962, 65 p . , Si. [Ej. Pr. D p . ] Sixth report o n the question. Importance of a detailed preparation of programmes (conferences, seminars, etc.) T o organize this preparation, it is necessary to have information on the production and agricultural potential of the country in question, on its general economic situation, and on the level of hygiene of the population and its m o d e of living. Expert Committee on Trypanosomiasis. Technical Reports Series, N o . 247. 1962, 57 p . ,
$0.60.
[Ej. Pr. D p . St.] This first report describes the geographical distribution of this disease and its vehicles. M o r e particularly, socio-economic methods of combating it. Radiation Hazards in Perspective. Technical Reports Series, N o . 248. 1962, 37 p . , $0.60. [Ej. Pr.] Comparative study of a group of chemical and physical agents, including ionizing radiations. Milk Hygiene. M o n o g r a p h N o . 4 8 . 1962, 782 p . , $12. [Ej. Pr. D p . St.] This volume presents the findings of a joint F A O / W H O / U n i c e f study group. It contains articles o n diseases transmitted by milk and on methods of preserving the purity of milk in different climates.
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U N I T E D NATIONS E D U C A T I O N A L , O R G A N I Z A T I O N (Unesco)
SCIENTIFIC A N D C U L T U R A L
International aid for progress: the role of Unesco. Unesco Information M a n u a l , N o . 4 . 18 p . , 1962. [Ej. O r g . BI.] A general survey of international aid for the advancement of the less developed countries provided by the United Nations Specialized Agencies, and more particularly Unesco. Underdeveloped countries. Technical assistance. International action for development. T h e division of tasks between the various agencies. Unesco's programmes. Examples of actual projects.
SOCIAL A N D CULTURAL ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT
Social change and economic development. Extracts from International Social Science Bulletin, presented by Jean M e y n a u d , 196a, 231 p . , $4. [Ej. Sc. BI.] Analysis of the social consequences of technological change, particularly in the underdeveloped countries, has been given considerable attention in the present journal (formerly the International Social Science Bulletin) ever since it began publication. It was thought useful to collect in one volume some of the articles o n this topic published in numbers that have long been out of print. There is an introduction by Jean M e y n a u d o n the general conclusions to be drawn from these articles, and this is followed b y studies arranged under the following heads: psychological motivations and cultural problems, factors in long-term economic development, monographs and documentary studies. T h e bibliography lists the principal works on the question which have appeared in the past ten years. Social research and problems of rural development in south-east Asia. 1963. 268 p . , $4. [Ej. Pr. D p . Bl.] Report of a seminar organized by the Viet-Namese National Commission for Unesco, under the auspices of Unesco and F A O (Saigon, M a r c h i960). T h e volume was prepared by M r . V u Q u a e T h u c and M r . K . F . Walker. It deals with the problems of rural life in south-east Asia and shows h o w sociological research can help to solve them. T h e seminar was attended by about seventy-five experts and observers. T h e papers reproduced in this w o r k bear on topics such as local initiative and h o w it m a y be encouraged, education for community development, the communication of n e w techniques, the development of rural communities, current research, and subjects on which research should be undertaken in this field. A brief s u m m a r y of the proceeedings of the seminar is given in a general introduction. The role of savings and wealth in southern Asia and the West. Edited by Richard D . Lambert and Bert F . Hoselitz. 1963,432 p . , $4.50. [Sc. Ej. D p . St. B L ] Papers o n the psychological attitudes, cultural and social conditions and other factors which account for the differences in the ability of various nations to acquire wealth and m a k e it productive. T h e editors of this publication submitted an outline of the topic a n d some tentative ideas to a n u m b e r of experts, w h o subsequently met at Calcutta (December 1959) and agreed on the form and content of their contributions. T h e work consists of monographs on the economic aspects of the system of values and practices which constitute the culture of various nations, this culture being considered as bound u p with given sociological structures. It comprises chapters dealing with Western societies (B. F . Hoselitz and R . D . Lambert), Ceylon (S. J. T a m b i a h ) , H o n g K o n g ( M . Topley), India ( M . S . Gore), Malay peasants ( M . Swift), Pakistan (A. F . A . Husain), the Philippines (A. P . Pal) and V i e t - N a m (Vu Q u c Thuc) and a systematic comparison
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between southern Asia and the W e s t , based on the preceding papers (R. D . Lambert and B . F . Hoselitz).
H U M A N G E O G R A P H Y : NOMADS
Nomades et nomadisme au Sahara. Recherches sur la zone aride. N o . X I X . 1963, 195 p . , $3. [Se. Ej. Bl. St. D p . ] Collection of studies compiled b y a group of French research workers and intended to provide a n up-to-date survey of the situation of n o m a d s in the Sahara. General introduction. Description of the various forms of traditional n o m a d i s m . Changes due to contacts with the m o d e r n world. N u m e r o u s monographs giving concrete examples. M a p s . Glossary of local terms. Annotated bibliography. PSYCHOLOGY A N D JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
Psychology of the adolescent and social maladjustment: some research trends, methods a problems (meeting of experts, Paris, 4-8 June 1962). [Pr. Sc. O r g . ] S o m e twelve experts (from the Federal Republic of G e r m a n y , Argentina, Poland, the United A r a b Republic, the U . S . S . R . , the United K i n g d o m , Japan, India, Israel, the United States, Turkey, France and international organizations) attended the meeting, the object of which w a s to examine psychological aspects of juvenile delinquency. T h e problem as found in the various countries represented. M e t h o d s of dealing with it. Required research. Role of international organizations.
SAMPLE SURVEYS
International directory of sample survey centres (outside the U.S.A.). Reports a n d Pape in the Social Sciences, N o . 17. 1962, 46 p . , $0.50. [Pr. D p . ] Prepared by the International Committee for Social Sciences D o c u m e n tation, with the assistance of the W o r l d Association for Public Opinion Research. N a m e , address, structure and activities of public opinion institutes a n d similar bodies (except those concerned only with market study) in twelve countries in Western Europe and in Argentina, Brazil, C a n a d a , Chile, China (Taiwan), Colombia, C u b a , India, Israel, Japan, N o r w a y , P a n a m a , Philippines, Poland, Republic of South Africa, United A r a b Republic and U r u g u a y .
DOCUMENTATION QUESTIONS
Scientific conference papers and proceedings (contents, influence, value, availability), International Federation for Documentation. 1963, 29 p . [Pr.] A technical treatment of documentation problems involved in the organization of international scientific conferences a n d the circulation of publications containing the conclusions reached. Recommendations as to the solution of these problems. Nature of international scientific conferences. Preparatory documents. Production and circulation. Documents published after the conference. Circulation. Classification. Availability. Miscellaneous statistical data o n the volume of documentation published at international conferences a n d its use.
EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS
Current school enrolment statistics. N o . 9. September 1962, 49 p . , $ 1 . [Pr. St. D p . ] Tables showing the latest data assembled b y Unesco o n the n u m b e r of students enrolled in schools or colleges in various countries, with subdivisions for the type of educational establishment (pre-school, primary, secondary, vocational, teacher-training, higher, etc.).
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A N D PUBLICATIONS
Elements of educational planning. Educational Studies and Documents, N o . 45. 1963, 42 p., $0.50. [Pr. O r g . D p . Ej.] A survey of the factors to be taken into consideration w h e n plans are drawn u p for educational development adapted to the economic and social changes taking place in a given society. Trends in educational planning in various parts of the world. Stages in the preparation of a plan. Principal findings of international meetings which have drafted over-all plans for education on a continentwide scale. Educational planning. A preliminary listing. Education Abstracts. V o l u m e X I V , N o . 2 , ! 9 6 2 , 35 p . , $0.60. [Pr. D p . Bl.] A bibliography listing 180 publications on educational planning, with annotations; international studies are listed first, and then studies published in different countries. S o m efiftycountries are covered, in all parts of the world. Literature from the United States is omitted, as it is to be listed in a separate publication. Further bibliographies are to be added to the list. The development of higher education in Africa (findings and recommendations of the Tananarive Conference, 3-1S September 1962). 32 p . , 1962. [Ej. Pr. St. Org.] T h e conference was attended by the representatives of about thirty African countries. Analysis of the cultural, social, economic and technical needs which Africa's higher educational establishments are called on to meet. Outline of a plan for the development of higher education in Africa in the period 1961-80. Targetfigures.List of participants and observers.
N E W FORMS OF EDUCATION; TEACHING MACHINES
New methods and techniques in education. Educational Studies and Documents, N o . 4 8 . 1962, $1. [Ej. D p . Bl. Org.] Teaching machines. Programmed education. Telecommunications and educational films. A group of experts w h o met in Paris from 12 to 20 M a r c h 1962 exchanged their views on the questions arising in these various sectors, having regard to the need for the rapid training of more people to cope with complicated tasks. This document reproduces some of the papers submitted. Topics include: the present position as to the use of n e w teaching methods in the United States ( W . S c h r a m m ) , the use of radio and television for educational purposes (H. Dieuzeide), teaching machines and p r o g r a m m e d lessons (A. A . Lumsdaine), research on the use of technical media in education in the U . S . S . R . (N. S. Shakhmaev, N . Zinkin, S . Petrushin). Report on the Paris meeting. Participants. Bibliography.
ADULT EDUCATION
Second world conference on adult education. Educational Studies and Documents, N o . 46. 1963. 48 p . , $0.50. [Pr. O r g . D p . Ej.] T h e Conference was held at Montreal, in August i960. Report of the debates. S o m e of the working papers are reproduced. Analysis of reports from M e m b e r States. List of delegates.
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= Contains an extensive bibliography. = Presents facts country by country (or region by region). = Supplies essential information to educators and journalists interested in social questions. Org. = Is very useful for knowledge of the current activities of the international organization concerned. Pr. = Supplies useful factual information for certain groups of people (educators, government officials, members of international organizations and social institutions, etc.) whose activities are connected with the subject matter of the document. St. = Contains statistics. Sc. = Deserves the attention of scientific workers in thefieldconcerned. The importance of these conventional signs is, of course, purely relative, and w e do not wish their use to be taken as implying a system of classification. W e use them merely in order to give as brief an abstract as is consistent with indicating, in the easiest way possible, that part of the contents of the publications and documents under review which relates to some particular branch of social science.
BOOK REVIEWS
A R O N , R . Dix-huit leons sur la socit industrielle. Paris, Gallimard, 1962. In Dix-huit leons sur la socit industrielle, reproducing a course of lectures delivered at the Sorbonne in 1955-56, a n d therefore intended rather for students a n d the educated public than for specialists, R a y m o n d A r o n , using the analytical techniques of the sociologist, discusses the problem of the future of industrial society. H o w m u c h diversity is possible a m o n g societies having the s a m e technical equipment? A r e the phases of economic growth comparable in different social systems? In other words, does m o d e r n industrial society seem to b e uniform or multiform? These are the questions that this lucid a n d fascinating book sets out to answer, leaving aside any question of ideological controversy. Four lessons constituting a general introduction are devoted to defining the objectives of study a n d thought o n these questions, their chief a i m being, in the light of the systems elaborated b y the great nineteenth-century theorists, to relate the economic structures of society to its structures as a whole. For this purpose, R a y m o n d A r o n endeavours to bring to light the features which are c o m m o n to all industrial societies, and to set t h e m against the individual characteristics of each society or each group of societies. This gives h i m the opportunity of reviewing the criticisms levelled against the two major social systems. T h e exploitation of the workers, the exclusive dominance of the profit motive, inequality of incomes, the confused or unbalanced state of the market, the permanent threat of crisis, are the complaints most often m a d e against capitalism, while, o n the other hand, planned
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societies are criticized for giving the planners too absolute a power, which is liable to foster despotism and bureaucracy and makes any form of economic calculus impossible. After drawing attention to the limited and too purely theoretical scope of these criticisms, the author reduces the essential differences between the two systems to a few basic characteristics: (a) the survival, in the capitalist system, of small and medium-sized private firms in industry, trade and agriculture, the contrasts being far less marked at the level of the large industrial firms; (b) the absence, in the capitalist system, of any radical separation between national and world economy, and the corollary need for submitting to the requirements of international trade; (c) the dominant influence of consumers in the capitalist system, o n the distribution of the national income; (d) the role and situation of the trade unions in relation to the State. Behind the ideological criticisms, therefore, w e find that there are close similarities between the two systems, both of which are faced with the fundamental problem of growth. Analysis of this problem is probably difficult because growth is a process whose results are measured in quantitative terms, while its determinants are essentially qualitative. While the form of progress m a y vary from one type of economy to another, it depends, in the last analysis, on h u m a n behaviour. A s a prerequisite for growth, readiness to accept progress seems to depend on three basic characteristics of industrial civilization: the scientific and technical mentality, the science of economic calculus, and the liking for innovation. There are thus n o simple correlations between the nature of opposing social systems and the vigour of economic growth. In the second part of the work, the author takes u p the comparative study of the p h e n o m e n a of growth within given historical units, i.e. industrial societies of different types. A n analysis of American and Soviet patterns of growth leads to the conclusion that, in each of the two systems, there are just as m a n y factors conducive to growth as militating against it. T h e differences between American a n d Soviet development cannot be explained merely b y inequality of natural resources, the size of the market a n d the volume of capital invested. Psychological factors, which are a basic cause of differences in productivity, must also be taken into account. In short, it is difficult, and perhaps fruitless, to attempt to define the most efficient system unless agreement isfirstreached on a definition of efficiency. Is a welfare economy to be preferred to a power economy? Should a higher standard of living for the future be sacrificed to the standard of living of the present? These are all problems of values, which cannot yet be finally settled at the present stage of development of the different systems. Aron's conclusion is that, in any case, because of the methods he employs, the sociologist is concerned not so m u c h with solving these problems as with defining an approach which will m a k e it possible to state them clearly and objectively.
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H E I M A N N , E d w a r d . Reason and faith in modern society. Liberalism, Marxism and democracy. Middletown (Conn.), Wesleyan University Press, 1961. x + 342 p., index, $6.50. T h e author, a sociologist and theologian, discusses capitalist and liberal individualism, in thefirstpart of his study, and Marxist c o m m u n i s m in the second; both are rejected in favour of a community socialism based on the Christian faith, which is dealt with in the third part. In his opinion, the source of democracyas a blend of freedom and equalityis religion. But capitalist liberalism and Marxist egalitarianism, both born of the rationalist optimism of the eighteenth century, have drawn away from this religious source, thereby upsetting the equilibrium which it m a d e possible. In the West, the doctrine of freedom has become increasingly individualistic, to the point of sacrificing equality and the community; similarly, M a r x ism has had to sacrifice freedom and equality o n the altar of uniformity and totalitarianism. In neither case is there any true socialism; the individual cannot be reconciled with the community except through a spiritual rebirth which would lead him back to the religious source of democracy. T h e author sees justification for the hope of such a development in certain contemporary phenomena, such as the Marshall Plan and the United Kingdom's voluntary withdrawal from India, or, again, the recent advances towards the union of the Churches. Industrialization and society. Edited by Bert F . Hoselitz and Wilbert E . M o o r e . (Proceedings of the Chicago Conference o n Social Implications of Industrialization and Technical Change, 15-22 September i960), Paris, Unesco, M o u t o n , 1963, 437 p . , tabl. (International Social Science Council. cole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. V I e section.) T h e rapid transformation of societies under the impact of induced economic change is an important fact in the present-day world; indeed, study of economic development and of its social implications in the poor countries brings in all aspects of society in those countries. T o begin with, an analysis m a y be m a d e of the various factors which, in any primitive society, will enable the process of development to be set in motion, with special reference to the role of traditional behaviour either as [a hindrance or as a help to progress. In the field of economy and technology, the gradual expansion of the small traditional community into a larger society and the resultant changes in social ties are attended by a process of differentiation of economic roles and an easing of the rules governing the allocation of these roles; and as this process develops, n e w institutions come into being to take the place of the old ones. Structural differentiation, i.e., the formation of more diversified and self-contained social units, is followed by 'integration' which transforms the character of society as the n e w structures emerge institution of political organizations, formation of n e w groups, growth of the part played b y the State. At the origin of development, there is one basic factor of a psychological nature: the motivation which induces m a n to embark on constructive
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innovations. T h e activity of the entrepreneur in a developing country m a y be seen o n analysis to be a continuing process resulting from a steady modification of behaviour rather than as a series of major changes brought about by an lite. Investments are carried on in a climate of uncertainties, and the study of uncertainty enables us to gauge the influence of the total environment on the making of decisions. T h e activity of the entrepreneur thus provides a source of reference for the classification and study of models of development and their implications with regard to technological change. In all the as yet non-industrialized societies, this psychological factor is of prime importance for the transformation of the economy. T h e problem of savings in such societies is bound u p with these variations in motivation; the traditional forms of investment m a y be irrational, and certain uses of savings m a y not lead to any substantial increase in economic productivity and well-being; the underlying cause must be sought in the various traditional systems of reciprocity. A t a more purely structural level, the significance of the rise in income must be related to the changes in the economic structure. There is a direct correlation between the per capita income and the degree of industrialization, between urbanization and the level of consumption. However, the interrelationship between these various yardsticks of economic growth can be given a truly conclusive interpretation only if economic analysis is combined with a study of political conditions, of the social structure and of the cultural environment, all of which modify these relations to some extent. Turning to the problem of the relationship of political and administrative organization to economic development, w e find great variability of political structures linked with a n apparently successful economic growth, and it seems difficult to give any single reply to basic questions as to the part played by the spirit of political enterprise, the place of the State enterprise in growth, the degree of centralization necessary for the expansion of the economy, and so on. M u c h the same problems are m e t with everywhere in the establishment of bureaucraciesthat is to say, of rational administrative structuresbut their activity is often thwarted or its character changed by the part these bureaucracies play as agents of political power in overthrowing social structures and replacing them by n e w economic structures. W h e n n e w economic activities are worked out and n e w systems of government emergethat is, w h e n the nature of loyalties has to undergo a changeproblems can be tackled in terms of 'interest groups' and of conflicts between those groups. In pre-industrial society, everything centres on the identification of attitudes and loyalties between the ascendant interests and emerging groups; 'positive' attitudes are found a m o n g certain lites not linked with the traditional structures, a m o n g entrepreneurs and, occasionally, a m o n g ethnic minorities performing commercial functions. T h e social, economic and technical problems of rapid urbanization become especially acute in the underdeveloped countries, most of which
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suffer from phenomena of over-urbanization, for they do not have an adequate economic basis to support urban populations with a living standard comparable with that of the Western world. These problems will inevitably be aggravated by the demographic explosion that accompanies industrialization. The effect of technology on population changes in the underdeveloped countries has been decisive as far as action to combat mortality is concerned, but this only throws into clearer relief the urgent need for birth control in these countries. Demographic growth is now competing with industrial growth in the underdeveloped countries, but this question of population control is still closely bound u p with traditional behaviour patterns and the state of social relations. W h e r e family structures are concerned, the m o v e towards industrialization seems to be accompanied by a shift of the family towards a certain type of 'nuclear' family and a loosening of ties with distant relatives; however, it is difficult to assess the extent to which industrialization meets the needs of the nuclear family unit and the extent to which this type of family meets the requirements of industrialization. In a developing society, education is no longer a mere 'consumer product' but m a y become an instrument of economic change. Moreover, w h e n resources are limited, the old forms of education m a y be replaced by new methods utilizing the mass media of communication. All these analyses bring out the advisability and the necessity of a n inter-disciplinary approach to the complex phenomenon of economic development. M C C L E L L A N D , David C . The achieving society, Princeton, VanNostrand C o . , ig6i,xvi + 512 p. The title of David McClelland's study inevitably calls to mind K . Galbraith's work on the affluent society. Both deal with the 'wealth of nations', but Galbraith considers economic society in its maturity and McClelland from the standpoint of its growth. A m o n g the various factors that provide a clue to the understanding of economic development, the author singles out those amenable to psychological analysis conducted in accordance with the most rigorous social science techniques. T h e emphasis is placed m o r e particularly o n one key factor, referred to in the title of the work, the 'need for achievement'which seems to cover both the spirit of enterprise and the idea of fulfilment. In order to isolate this factor and clarify its relationship with the growth of the economy, comparative research w a s carried out on three different points. In thefirstplace, the author sets out to measure the spirit of enterprise in various groupsmore particularly by studying certain aspects of group culture such as tales and legends, children's literature and literary production as a wholeand to ascertain how it is related to the rate of growth of the economy. The aim of the second type of research is to bring to light the individual structures of this relationship. It bears mainly on the motivations, values and mental images of samples of mothers and children in various
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countries. T h e author traces the origin of the urge for achievement found in sons to certain behavioural patterns of their mothers, to certain values these recognize, and he seeks to assess the effects of this trait of character in children on the careers they choose and o n their general behaviour. A s it was virtually impossible to follow up these children's lives into adulthood so as to assess the effect of individual variations o n the spirit of enterprise, the third type of research was carried out on a sample of established entrepreneurs. T h e author analyses the personality of a n u m b e r of businessmen and tries to gauge the strength of their urge for achievement and to compare it with their economic success. This study, which draws u p o n a large body of factual dataconcerning the Greece of Pericles and present-day industrial societies, India in process of development a n d the super-equipped United States of Americais sufficiently convincing to m a k e us regard the spirit of enterprise (very precisely defined b y a psychologist) as one of the most important factors in the economic development of nations. M E Y N A U D , J. Destin des idologies. Lausanne, 6 , chemin de M o r n e x , 1961, 163 p . This work is a critical review of the theory of the decline of ideologies in contemporary society. A s is well k n o w n , for s o m e years past this theory has enjoyed great popularity both in intellectual circlesas is evidenced, for instance, by the Rheinfelden discussionsand a m o n g the general public. In the advanced industrial societies, a certain depreciation of the values once regarded as essential, a certain indifference with regard to doctrinal battles, is discernible. Does this m e a n that the day of ideologies is over, that a final truce has been made? T h e objection that some problems are still the subject of dispute is countered by the advocates of this theory with the assertion that the old quarrels live on w h e n their real causes have been removed and that ideological attitudes survive the ideologies themselves. In the Western democracies there are unmistakable signs of such a truce. T h e socialist parties are moving towards reform; there is a lowering of the rate of citizen participation in political life; a n d the rulers, w h o consider that politics should be subordinated to considerations of efficiency, are becoming 'technocratic'. But there are other factors which are at variance with these trends. S o m e of the socialist sympathizers have m o v e d over to the communist c a m p ; political activity has been transferred to groups other than the political parties (trade unions, economic groups, the Churches). It m a y also be claimed that the political apathy of the technician is often merely an illusion or a pretext. T h e p h e n o m e n a on which the notion of the ideological truce is based are therefore still vague and are often contradicted. Moreover, their scope is limited, both in space and in time. Assuming that these p h e n o m e n a are confined to the Western democracies and that, in the n e w States, for instance, the problems of industrialization, the place of religion, and the nature of political institutions give rise to heated ideological controversydoes this
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necessarily m e a n that the ideological truce betokens an advanced stage of development, that it is the final stage in the progress of the industrial societies? Are w e , moreover, to conclude that it is a permanent trend, beyond which there will be n o further development? Surely it would be wiser to take the viewsince these trends have been observable only over the past ten years or sothat this is merely a lull, a transitory phase during which criticism of the old ideologies still takes precedence over the framing of n e w principles. A t the end of thefirstpart of his work, J. M e y n a u d stresses the fact that any endeavour to define the nature and scope of the ideological truce is liable to lead to oversimplified statements. In the second part of the work, he analyses the explanations furnished by the advocates of the truce theory. Will they serve to clarify the problem? T h efirsttype of explanation is a purely economic argument. It is based o n the enormous expansion of productive forces in the present-day world, and on the resultant prospects of unlimited growth. In the age of affluence, ideological conflicts lose their point. In The Affluent Society, J. K . Galbraith notes that American society has passed from poverty to plenty, and that increased production has greatly attenuated the problem of inequality by acting as a substitute for a 'redistribution of wealth'. T h e ideologies forged in a world of poverty live on only because ideas lag behind the facts, but the principles they enshrine are n o w purely conventional. This statement calls for m a n y qualifications. Apart from the fact that the European countries are far from having achieved general affluence, even the ' A m e r ican w a y of life' is not enjoyed by all sectors of the population (it must not be forgotten, for instance, that the average income of the Negroes is still less than half that of the white population). Lastly, Galbraith has levelled criticism against certain aspects of the affluent society, such as the squandering of productive forces and the fact that fundamental needs are neglected in favour of the satisfaction of artificially created wants. Even though the idea of growing impoverishment opposed by the Marxists to the idea of affluence is n o w difficult to uphold and the change in living standards m a y actually influence political attitudes, the growing wealth of society has nevertheless not yet done away with social problems and, in the twentieth century, affluence is still a restricted phenomenon. Affluence therefore provides a very dubious explanation for the ideological truce. A second type of explanation places emphasis on the social changes brought about by m o d e r n industrial development. It is claimed that 'neocapitalism', by reforming structures, provides a solution to ideological conflicts by removing their causes. It is thus supposed to lead not to the exploitation but to the integration of the working class. T h e changes that have been brought about in the structure and mentality of capitalist leadership are adduced in support of this theory. Industrial concerns are no longer controlled by the holders of capital; efforts are being m a d e to give the workers a capital interest in the concern, extensive social benefits are granted to them, a n d the development of h u m a n relations techniques affords a
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means of forestalling or attenuating conflicts; it is emphasized that the development of big industry, n o w mechanized and soon to be automated, is placing an ever wider gulf between it and small manufacturing industry and is thus splitting u p trade union action into a series of isolated endeavours; lastly, it is asserted that the mentality of the working class has changed, that its class consciousness is dulled and its revolutionary dynamism flagging. But arguments opposing these assertions can be advanced; the m a n agers of the big industrial concerns m a y be said to have taken over from the old employer class, keeping the same prerogatives and material advantages; it can be argued that the integration of the working class is an extremely slow process and that it is far from having achieved the abolition of conflicts, as is evidenced by the large-scale strikes that still take place in all parts of the world. Neo-capitalism therefore does not seem capable of settling all social problems and bringing the workers' m o v e m e n t into the reformist c a m p . M o r e generally speaking, it has not been proved that industrial societyas understood by R . Aronis moving towards uniform social structures, the very unity of which would lead to a readiness for reconciliation. Furthermore, the changes observed are still piecemeal, and no theory has yet been evolved which is capable of offering a total explanation of the repercussions of industrialization on politics. In conclusion, J. M e y n a u d raises the point whether the theory of the decline of ideologies is itself ideologically neutral; whether, in certain cases, it does not reflect a desire to reassure and provide moral comfort for the satisfied and well-to-do; whether, admitting of n o scientific proof, it is not at times merely a tactical statement. S A M S O N , A . Anatomy of Britain, L o n d o n , H o d d e r and Stoughton, 1962, xiv + 662 p. A s a good anatomist, A . Samson does not set out in this work, which makes fascinating reading, to penetrate the secrets of the articulation of power in Great Britain; he merely describes the interrelationship of the different bodies of varying importancethe aristocracy, majority, opposition, government departments, army, Press, justice, Churches, schools (Part I), financial and business circles (Part II), and, lastly, managers (Part III). H e conducts his inquiry as a journalist w h o excels in conjuring u p an atmosphere while preserving a practical approach (cf. pp. 21-50, the description of the House of Lords, and the chapter on the C r o w n , dealing with the audiences granted by the Q u e e n in the course of a year, the ceremonies she attends, her holidays and tastes, her contacts, the cost of Royalty and the powers of the Q u e e n ) . T h e work has n o governing ideas; it is rather a collection of considerations on different subjects bearing little logical relation to one another, set d o w n more or less at r a n d o m . This book offers no theory of 'lites', no method of investigation other than that of the reliable fact-finder, the experienced and gifted traveller. But w h e n , as here, the journalist clearly has powers of observation, understanding and expression, what he notes
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d o w n is worth while and the m a i n problems are revealed in their true dimensions. In A . Samson's opinion, prestige and power are mutual strangers in Great Britain today. Honour is done to those w h o no longer wield power, while those w h o d o are l f in the shade; p o m p surrounds the Lord M a y o r , et the Lords, the Q u e e n . This love of pageantry is dangerous, for it helps to cover up the identity of the real leaders. T h e press, far from remedying this state of affairs, aggravates it through its insistence on the spectacular rather than o n the underlying realities. T h e old British aristocracy, trained in the public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge for the exercise of power, is at pains to m a k e small matters seem important, thrilling events seem dull, innovations seem familiar. This implies a feeling of superiority, security and permanence which is dangerous in a dangerous world. T h e old world of the aristocracy, in power, is cut off from the n e w world of 'meritocracy'. Britain's trouble m a y be traced to the country's natural leaders w h o have lost the will to fight. ' W e n o longer believe in c o m m u n i s m , nor in anti-communism, nor in free enterprise.' Politics are the private domain of amateurs with a good 'general' culture incompetent, isolated, cut off from the technocrats, and on the defensive. Social functions and careers alike are stereotyped. Only the Empire and the war gave great m e n an opportunity of asserting themselves. By n o w they have grown old. O n the whole, A . Samson considers that Great Britain's problem is not to find out w h o is exercising power but whether anyone is still doing so. Decisions are always taken 'in other quarters'. Bureaucracy holds the reins. Even in the Cabinet, the real business of government is being ousted by inter-ministerial quarrels. Such is the diagnosis. A s for the remedy, the author seems to have placed great hopes in Great Britain's entry into the C o m m o n M a r k e t . . . (p. 637). T H O E N E S , P . De Elite in de Verzorgingsstaat (The lites in the welfare state). Leyden, Stenfert Kroese N . V . , 1962, x + 268 p . (Publicatie van het Sociologisch Instituut der Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden.) Hitherto, the lites have seldom been the subject of study in the Netherlands, apart from the politico-literary work of Ter Braaks. T h e bourgeois, equalitarian democracy obtaining in this country has perhaps discouraged such studies, for the very idea of an lite has feudal, aristocratic connotations. In addition, the Netherlands conception of the State and public life has always had an essentially technical and descriptive, rather than a speculative, aspect. N o w the welfare State has gradually been superimposed on political democracy. Is peaceful coexistence between the two possible? A n y sociologist w h o draws attention to the possible need for a choice goes beyond the bounds of technical analysis and imposes on his reader a political attitude in the broad sense of the word. T h e present study proceeds on the basis of two definitions: (a) a social lite constitutes a group which discerns, exemplifies or maintains
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the rules governing the structure, functions and evolution of society in general or of certain strata of society; (b) the welfare State guarantees social well-being while maintaining a capitalist system of production. It should, however, be noted that there are different types of lites; in fact, the very idea of lite has evolved before its present meaning of 'intellectual' lite came to be adopted. But the fact remains that the emphasis a m o n g lites as such is always o n the unity of mind a n d power. T h e various roles ascribed to lites are skilfully described by three sociologists. V . Pareto dwells on lites as forces bent o n the maintenance of the status quo. K . M a n n h e i m , on the contrary, considers the lites capable of breaking with the old order a n d inaugurating a n e w historical period (but attention should be d r a w n in this connexion to the difference existing between the welfare State as it is developing before our eyes and the image formed by M a n n h e i m of the future). Lastly, T h . Geiger takes the view that power corrupts the lites, w h o should accordingly renounce it and confine themselves to providing critical advice to those actually exercising it. Superficially, the welfare State seems to be free of conflict. In actual fact it is the scene of conflicts between 'being' a n d 'becoming', and of alienation phenomena, essential to the formation of lites. In this welfare State, the old lites of engineers and entrepreneurs, for instance, have shed m u c h of their prestige, even if there is n o parallel curtailment of their 'power'. Moreover, their road to power is barred b y a n e w class of managers and administrators. This n e w class, whose extensive powers are particularly apparent in times of crisis, does not consist of representatives elected in accordance with the traditional democratic process. A n d it is backed u p by a whole system of experts, advisers, top-ranking civil servantsin short the n e w lite of the planned society in the welfare State. This lite in turn strengthens its authority by setting u p its o w n body of advisers. Their action is motivated essentially by political considerations and is not directed towards 'neutral' a n d 'democratic' ends, as is claimed by F. Hartog in his study entitled Democracy and Economic Planning. T h e same applies to sociological and 'social' research, which also have a strong bias. Moreover, the idea that the social sciences probe solely into social facts, with a view to determining objectively the law governing them, and that political realities in a democracy reflect only the will of the electoral body, does not stand u p to investigation. For the form and content of the social sciences depend o n ideological alignments, just as democracy requires not only the assent but also the participation and thorough understanding of all citizens. In the welfare State, there are permanent connexions between the social sciences and politics. These contacts should be encouraged. But, as matters stand, the false contention that the social sciences are objective tinges these contacts with 'illegality'. O n the contrary there is reason to belive that a n avowedly 'political' sociology m a y contribute to the progress of democracy. But this sociology should keep free of all dogmatism and remain 'open'. In this w a y , a n e w litemodest, historical and
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W I L S O N , Francis G r a h a m . A theory of public opinion, Chicago, H . Regnery, 1962, xiv + 308 p., index. T h e notion of public opinion is basic to political life in our democracies. Western political philosophy stipulates the principle that fair government must be founded o n the consent of the community. There are various conceptions of what should be the role of public opinion in the framing of political decisions, but the idea of harmony between law and conscience is one of the ideas which m a n has most deeply cherished since antiquity. T h e notion of public opinionfirstpresupposes a distinction between rulers and ruled, leaving open the question of the nature of the influence of the ruled over the rulers. This latter problem is closely bound up with a value judgement. C a n w e trust the average citizen, the m a n in the street, in his judgement of political affairs? Does public opinion, then, stand for a set of reliable traditions and sound concepts? O r should w e mistrust the public's judgement and consider that the 'power technicians' alone are qualified to take political decisions? This is a fundamental distinction; for the opposing theories of the representativity or, on the other hand, the irresponsibility of public opinion are based o n one or the other conception. T h e ancient Greeks and R o m a n s acknowledged the value of the ordinary citizen's judgement, and until the Middle Ages there were m a n y channels through which citizens could exercise some control over their rulers. O n the other hand, under absolute monarchy, all representativity was vested in the monarch, holding his authority from G o d , and the people were regarded as a mass of ignorant individuals w h o had to be guided towards a better future by the ruling power. However, the evolution of monarchy towards parliamentary rule restored full force to the idea of some direction being imposed by the whole body of the ruled upon their rulers. Eighteenthcentury England offers the clearest example of this; and no rgime has since denied the principle. However, the application of modern techniques of psychology and sociology to the study of public opinion has largely modified the data of the problem. W e are brought back to the same question, which in fact supposes a value judgement. C a n w e believe in the validity of public opinion, i.e. in the rationality of the individual's judgement, or should w e take the viewas Freud's disciples do to some extentthat it reflects too closely the incoherence of the h u m a n mind to be taken into account? W e thus find the democratic theory of the validity of public opinion opposed to totalitarian theories of domination and control of public opinion through modern propaganda techniques. In a true democracy, those vested with power are at pains to enlighten the public through appropriate forms of education, whereas under a totalitarian system, the rulers regard public opinion as a dangerous force which must be controlled and moulded so that it m a y serve as a surety for the government's action without any risk of thwarting it.
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In relations between public opinion a n d intellectualsas a 'group' w e find the same opposition between those intellectuals w h o trust the judgement of the m a n in the street a n d reckon with the weight of tradition for which public opinion is a vehicle, a n d those w h o profess as a matter of principle a certain contempt for non-intellectuals a n d consider that they, the technicians of thought, have the task of moulding a n d guiding the opinion of their fellow citizens. Another group, the middle class, has long been associated with the very notion of public opinion, m o r e particularly owing to the fact that in eighteenth-century England, long regarded as a model of democracy, the development of public opinion coincided with the political h e g e m o n y of the middle class, a n d public opinion w a s for a long time equated with the opinion of the middle class. But the middle class ideal has b e c o m e obsolete in the age of mass media of communication. N o r , finally, is the concept of public opinion linked exclusively with the concept of proletariat. Anarchist and trade union movements have militated against the participation of the working classes in political life, and the Marxist-Leninists reserved the leadership of the revolution for a very small fraction of workers, the 'vanguard' of the proletariat. In their opinion, the philosophy of the State cannot be challenged by public controversy, election or opinion campaigns; the very concept of public opinion is thus deprived of m u c h of its value. O n e fundamental problem still remains to be settled. H o w far can the m a n in the street, the ordinary citizen, influence the decisions taken by the authorities? H o w far should he b o w to the judgement of the 'technicians'? Is the exercise of power a matter for political scientists or a matter of c o m m o n sense and tradition? T h e answer to this set of questions cannot b e found unless the conditions are there for a true democracy to be established in a society where justice prevails a n d every individual can effectively voice his opinions based o n a full knowledge of the facts. T h e study of public opinion brings us back to the study of democracy.
BOOKS RECEIVED
A L M E I D A , Maria Susana G . de. Motivaes no trabalko. Inqurito aos operarios das industrias metalomecnicas da regido de Lisboa. Preface by Pierre de Bie. Lisbon, 1962, 21 c m . , 343 p.,fig.,folding m a p , tabl. (Associao industrial portuguesa. Estudos de economa aplicada.) W o r k motivations of 370 workers in the metallurgical and engineering industry in the Lisbon region: attitudes on questions of wages, working conditions and labour relations; variations based on sex, level of skills and size of the undertakings.
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B O T T O M O R E , T . B . Sociology. A guide to problems and literature. London, G . Allen and U n w i n , 1962, 22 cm., 331 p . , bibliogr., index, 32s. Comparative study of societies, with particular stress on the institutions and problems of India and Asia. BouRRiCAUD, Franois. Changements Puno. tude de sociologie andine. Paris, Institut des hautes tudes de l'Amrique latine, 1962, 25 c m . , 241 p . , inset m a p , bibliogr. (Universit de Paris. Travaux et mmoires de l'Institut des hautes tudes de l ' A m rique latine, X I . ) Recent social changes in the P u n o region (Peru) : description of the community, conflicts of interests and agrarian structure, cultural dynamics of the Quechuaspeaking Indian population. B R A H M E , Sulabha. Distribution and consumption of cloth in Poona. London, Asia P u b lishing House, 1962. 25 c m . , xii + 103 p., pi., m a p s , index, 20s. (Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. Gokhale Institute Studies, 42.) Study of the cloth market in a n Indian town: structures and configuration of the wholesale and retail markets, process governing price-fixing, evaluation of consumption factors. B R E M B E C K , Cole S . ; W E I D N E R , Edward W . Education and development in India and Pakistan. A select and annotated bibliography. (N.P.) College of Education and International Programmes, 1962. 26 cm., viii + 221 p . (Michigan State University'Education in Asia'series, 1.) Annotated bibliography listing recent official documents, books and articles (all later than 1956) on problems of social advancement, in the broad sense of the term (adult education, technical and vocational training; universities and professors). Over 300 documents, extremely varied in nature, are grouped in ten chapters. C A N E T T I , Elias. Crowds and power. {Masse und Macht.) Translated from the G e r m a n by Carol Stewart. N e w York, The Viking Press, 1962.21 c m . , 495 p . , bibliogr., $7.50. Analysis based o n observations in several countries, of the ever more extensive interaction between crowds and power. Canfora families (The). A study in social casework and group work. Keele (Staffordshire), University College of North Staffordshire, 1962, 22 c m . , 240 p . , bibliogr., 25s. (The Sociological Review, Monograph 6.) Starting from observation of a number of maladjusted children living in the suburbs of a large town, a group of social workers set themselves the task between 1956 and i960 of studying sixteen local families and providing them with social assistance, placing greater emphasis on the problems of the whole family than o n those of its individual members. Their work was also designed to study the effects of this type of social action on family relations and their development.
C A R L I N , Jerome E . Lawyers on their own. A study of individual practitioners in Chicag N e w Brunswick (N.J.). Rutgers University Press, 1962. 21 c m . , xii + 234 p . , bibliogr., index, $6. Study of the social environment, professional training and conditions of work of 'independent' lawyers in Chicago, i.e., lawyers whose professional work is not connected with administration or private concerns. T h e study was m a d e o n the basis of interviews with some one hundred lawyers in this category. C A R T E R , M . P . Home, school and work. A study of the education and employment ofyoung people in Britain. Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1962,23 c m . , xii + 340 p . , tabl., bibliogr., index, 50s. (International Series of Monographs on Social and Behavioural Sciences, 1.) 500
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Survey conducted in Sheffield a m o n g 200 boys and girls during the period of transition between their last year at school and the beginning of their working life. T h e survey covered the psychology of the young people, their family a n d social environment, their motivations in the choice of a trade, the methods employed for finding work, etc. T h e book will be useful to teachers, psychologists and sociologists and no doubt also to parents and educators. Coexistence. Proceedings of the nineteenth annual meeting. Institute of World Affairs, Political Science Department, San Diego State College, 7-25 August 1961. San Diego (Calif.), 1961, 28 cm., viii + 219 p . Summary of the statements made at the 1961 session organized by the Institute of World Affairs on the subject of coexistence. The analysis of the concept of coexistence and i s implications in domestic and foreign policy is followed by several case t studies.
C O M M U N A U T E U R O P E N N E D U C H A R B O N E T D E L'ACIER. Haute Autorit. Les sys-
tmes de liaison des salaires la production, au rendement et la productivit dans les industries de la Communaut. L u x e m b o u r g , 1962, 23 c m . , 146 p . ,fig.,tabl. ( C o m m u naut europenne d u charbon et de l'acier. Haute Autorit. Collection d'conomie d u travail, 1.) This work sums u p the results of national studies analysing the highly complex systems of wages obtaining in the coal, steel and iron industries in the six countries belonging to the European Coal a n d Steel C o m m u n i t y . D A V I S , Calvin D e A r m o n d . The United States and the First Hague Peace Conference. Ithaca ( N . Y . ) , Cornell University Press, 1962, 23 c m . , xiv + 236 p., pi., bibliogr., index, $5. (American Historical Association.) Against the background of thefirstPeace Conference at T h e H a g u e , the author examines the contradictions in United States foreign policy at the end of the nineteenth century: an urge to establish arbitration procedures side by side with a desire for hegemony over the western hemisphere. This work also contributes substantially towards explaining the behaviour of the great European powers at that time. D E C A R Y , R a y m o n d . La mort et les coutumes funraires Madagascar. Paris, G . P . M a i sonneuve et Larose, 1962, 23 c m . , 306 + 6 + xiii p . , pi., bibliogr., 28 F . Detailed study of the types of burial and funerary art of all the ethnic groups and tribes inhabiting Madagascar. Dpolitisation (La), mythe ou ralit? Sous la direction de Georges Vedel. (Association franaise de science politique.) Paris, A . Colin, 1962, 24 c m . , 288 p . , tabl., 12 F . (Cahiers de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques. Partis et lections, 120.) A collection of papers presented at a round-table organized in Paris in N o v e m b e r i960 on the subject of depolitization: historical and critical study ofthat concept, analysis of the various forms of participation in political life, changes in the sociological context of political activity and in the conception of it held by citizens, reactions of various social categories.
D O T A T I O N CARNEGIE P O U R L A PAIX INTERNATIONALE. La dix-septime Assemble
gnrale des Nations Unies. (Geneva, Carnegie E n d o w m e n t for International Peace, 1962.) 21 c m . , 187 p., 2.25 Swiss francs; 2.50 F . This booklet on the seventeenth General Assembly of the United Nations sums u p the Assembly's work on the main questions confronting it : disarmament and international crises, economic and social questions, problems of decolonization, h u m a n rights and refugees, legal questions, Secretary-General's role in the financing of the Organization's operations.
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D U B O U I S , Louis. La thorie de l'abus de droit et la jurisprudence administrative. Preface Eugne Desgrandes. Paris, Librairie gnrale de droit et de jurisprudence, 1962, 26 c m . , 472 p., bibliogr., 52 F . (Bibliothque de droit public, 45.) Abuse of law in police matters, contracts and relations between officials and the administration; difference as compared with misuse of authority, and position taken by administrative jurisprudence in the general theory of law.
Enseignement (V) des sciences sociales au niveau pruniversitaire. Rapport de la run des 16-21 janvier 1961. H a m b u r g , Unesco Institute for Education, 1962, 24 c m . , 67 p. Report of a meeting at which eighteen experts from thirteen countries examined the teaching of the elements of certain of the social sciences in educational establishments below the university level. Analysis of national reports, discussion on the main themes, proceedings of working groups, and recommendations. (Also to be published in English.) Essays in Jewish sociology, labour and co-operation in memory of Noah Barou (1889-1955). Edited by Henrik F . Infield. London, N e w York, T . Yoseloff, 1962, 22 c m . , xiv + 167 p . , inset portr., 30s. Selection of essays by friends and admirers of Barou describing the great causes to which he devoted himself.
Evolution et tendances de la scurit sociale. Pays-Bas, Vol. II. Study m a d e at the reques of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel C o m m u n i t y . Geneva, 1959, 29 c m . , 82 p . , tabl. (International Social Security Association). This booklet describes the history, organization and financing of medical treatment under the health insurance system in the Netherlands. F A U C H E R , Maurice. Bibliographie europenne. Preface by Pierre Vinot. Paris, author, 113, rue d u Cherche-Midi, 1962, 28 c m . , xvi + 40 roneo, p., index., 21.50 F . This list of studies and theses published since 1949 on European construction comprises six main heads: General works, H u m a n rights, Council of Europe, E C S C , C o m m o n Market and Euratom, the items in each chapter being classified in chronological order. A n annex contains some twenty titles of articles. FiNKELSTEiN, Lawrence S. Arms inspection. N e w York, Carnegie E n d o w m e n t for International Peace, 1962, 20 c m . , ,89 p., 35 c. (International Conciliation, 540.) Technical and political problems involved in arms inspection: there being no ideal formula for inspection, agreements should be adapted to the arms to be controlled. A n inspection system for exercising control over a total disarmament agreement is unrealizable for the momentit would encroach too far on the prerogatives of national sovereignty.
F U T R E L L , Michael. Northern underground. Episodes of Russian revolutionary transpo and communications through Scandinavia and Finland, 1863-1917. London, Faber and Faber, 1963, 240 p., pi., inset portr., facsim., m a p . , 32S.6d. History of the long period of years during which the Bolshevik revolutionaries prepared the 1917 revolution, and the role played by Scandinavia as the gateway between Russia and Western Europe. It was through Sweden and Finland that the Bolshevik groups working in G e r m a n y , D e n m a r k and elsewhere were able to maintain contact with their comrades in Russia. G A D G I L , D . R . Planning and economic policy in India. (2nd ed.) B o m b a y , Asia Publishing House, 1962, 24 c m . , xviii + 272 p . , index. 38s. (Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Poona.) Series of articles and notes written between 1955 and 1962 on planning in India 502
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and the Government's economic and social policy. Contains particularly interesting views on the subject of the preparation of plans. G A R I G U E , Philippe. La vie familiale des Canadiens franais. Montral, Presses Universitaires de France, 1962, 23 c m . , viii + 144 p . , tabl., 10 F. (Universit de Montral. Facult des sciences sociales, conomiques et politiques.) Study of the present status of Canadian families, based on 'qualitative' research methods. A total of 228 families were covered by the survey, iwhich included 'constructed' and 'unconstructed' interviews, replies to questionnaires and 'observation and participation' by the author. T h e regional and social distribution of the families surveyed was highly varied, and the author was thus able to collect detailed information concerning the nature of family links, the structure and function of relationships and family values. T h e book concludes with a n u m b e r of case studies. G A U D E M E N T , Jean. Les communauts familiales. Paris, M . Rivire, 1963, 19 c m . , 199'p., 9.60 F . (Petite bibliothque sociologique internationale. Srie A : Auteurs contemporains, 8.) This analysis of sociological history posits the question of the family group and goes on to examine certain forms taken by it in antiquity, in the Middle Ages and in the Slav countries. A number of conclusions are drawn concerning the morphology and dynamics of these groups. G E R S D O R F F , Raphl von. Wirtschaftsprobleme Portugiesisch-Afrikas. Bielefeld, E . and W . Gieseking, 1962, 21 c m . , xvi + 359 p . , tabl., bibliogr., index. Comprehensive study of all the economic problems facing the Portuguese provinces in Africa, and particularly Angola and M o z a m b i q u e . Several chapters are devoted to the political and international conditions governing these problems, the Salazar Government's policy towards the Africans, the trend of raw material prices, and United States policy and investments. A supplementary chapter completes the record from M a r c h 1962 up to M a y 1962. G O L D S C H M I D T , Dietrich; M A T T H E S , Joachim (eds.). Probleme der Religionssoziologie. Cologne, Opladen, Westdeutscher Verlag, 1962, 24 c m . , 289 p . , fig., bibliogr. D M 16. (Klner Zeitschrift fr Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie. Sonderheft 6.) Extensive collection of articles on sociology and religion, written by well k n o w n specialists, including not only G e r m a n but also Dutch, French, Italian. English, Belgian, Swedish, Norwegian, Swiss, and American authors. T h e articles are in three groups: studies of general and methodological problems; reports on the status of the sociology of religion in various countries; problems peculiar to certain areas of research. A bibliography listing nearly seven hundred titles is annexed. G O L D S T E I N , Arnold P . Therapist-patient expectancies in psychotherapy. Pergamon Press, 1962, 22 c m . , xvi + 141 p . , bibliogr., index. 30s. Analysis of the influence of expectancy on h u m a n behaviour, and study of the role played by that psychological factor in psychotherapy. T h e author makes use, in his research, of the data provided by numerous works on experimental and theoretical psychology. G 0 0 D E , William J.; H A T T , Paul K . Metodologa delta ricerca sociale. (Methods in social research) (Traduzione di A n n a e Luciano Cavalli). Introduzione di Luciano Cavalli. Bologna, II Mulino, 1962, 21 c m . , xx + 571 p . , fig., tabl., bibliogr., L.4,000 (Collezione di testi e di studi scienze sociali, 12.) Description of the main traditional research methods in sociology and of n e w methods, especially those applicable to Italian problems.
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G O U L D N E R , Alvin W . ; P E T E R S O N , Richard A . Notes on technology and the moral order. With a foreword by Walter R . Goldschmidt and a methodological note by L . Keith Miller. Indianapolis, N e w York, Bobbs-Merrill, 1962. 21 c m . , xvi + 96 p . , tabl., index, $1.95. (Advanced Studies in Sociology.) Examination of basic philosophical problems with the aid of the instruments provided by m o d e r n statistical analysis, and especially factor analysis. H E L M , Brunhilde. Social work in a South African city. Cape T o w n , University of C a p e T o w n , 1962, 23 c m . , 74 p . , tabl., index. (University of C a p e T o w n . Board of Sociological Research.) The organization of social work in Cape T o w n . T w o chapters based o n original research discuss the effects of 'race' and 'religion' on social service bodies. H O F F M A N , Paul G . World without want. N e w York, Harper and R o w , 1962, 21 c m . , 144 p . , pi., index. $3.50. Methods of combating hunger, disease and illiteracy in the underdeveloped countries. The author favours assistance through the agency of the appropriate United Nations bodies.
J A Y A W A R D E N A , Chandra. Conflict and solidarity in a Guianese plantation. Londo The Athlone Press, 1963, 22 c m . , xii + 159 p., bibliogr., index. 25s. (London Schooll of Economics. Monographs on Social Anthropology, 25.) The multi-racial character of society in British Guiana and the size of the Indian communities on the sugar plantations provide the author with an opportunity to study a special type of social conflict in which there is conflict not only between the workers and the enterprise, but a m o n g the workers themselves. K A S , Ren. Les ouvriers franais et la culture. Enqute ig8-ig6i. Sous la direction de Marcel David. Strasbourg, Institut d u Travail, 1962, 27 c m . , 592 p . , fig., tabl. (Universit de Strasbourg. Facult de droit et des sciences politiques et conomiques. Institut d u travail.) The survey, conducted in France between 1958 and 1961 a m o n g a population representative of the main branches of industrial activity, relates to the characteristic features of the behaviour and attitudes of workers in respect of culture, the way they conceive and judge it. T h e author goes on to discuss the question of the coherence or heterogeneity of these attitudes and conceptions.
K I N G , Stanley H . Perceptions of illness and medical practice. N e w York, Russell Sag Foundation, 1962, 23 cm., 405 p., index. $6. This work, which is intended for health service personnel, draws attention to the socio-cultural factors involved in doctor-patient relations, goes very closely into hospital problems in that connexion, and stresses the relevance of sociology, psychology and anthropology.
Kuba. Istoriko-tnogrqficeskie ocerki. M o s c o w , Izdatel'stvo Akademii N a u k S S S R 1961, 23 c m . , 660 p.,fig.,portr., inset folding m a p , tabl., bibliogr. (Akademija N a u k S S S R . Institut tnografii.) Collection of articles on the C u b a n revolution, and on its historical and cultural background.
L A N D O N , Pierre. Histoire abrge du recours pour excs de pouvoir des origines IQ Preface by Marcel Waline. Paris, Librair e gnrale de droit et de jurisprudence, 1962, 25 c m . , iv + 197 p., 22 F. (Bibliothque de droit public, 49.) This work relates essentially to the period 1920-54, and deals particularly, in its study of the annulment procedure open to citizens, with 'absence of legal grounds'.
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L I M A S O B R I N H O , Barbosa. A nacionalidade da pessoa jurdica. Belo Horizonte, Edies da Revista brasileira de estudos polticos, 1963, 24 c m . , 296 p . (Estudos sociais e polticos, 23.) T h e problem of the nationality of corporate bodies in Brazil is bound u p with the presence of foreign economic interests in the country. M A R M O L , Charley del; D A B I N , Lon. L'apport des juristes la solution des problmes de la gestion des affaires. Lige, 1963, 25 c m . , 120 p . (Facult de droit de l'Universit de Lige. Commission 'Droit et vie des affaires'.) T h e importance of law in business life is clearly brought out by thisfirsts u m m a r y of the activities of the ' L a w and Business' Commission set u p at the L a w Faculty, Lige University. M E I E R , Richard L . A communications theory of urban growth. (N.P.) M I T Press (1962). 24cm.,viii + 184 p . ,fig.,index. (Joint Centre for U r b a n Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Harvard University.) Pilot study, advancing only tentative hypotheses, on the application of m o d e r n theories of communication and information as an aid to understanding urban structure and operation. Mezdunarodnye konomiceskie organizacii. Spravonik. M o s c o w , Izdatel'stvo Akademii N a u k S S S R , i960, 23 c m . , 980 p . , tabl., index. (Akademija N a u k S S S R . Institut mirovoj konomiki i mezdunarodnyh otnosenij.) Refernce work on international economic organizations: very comprehensive a n d detailed list of international organizations that concern themselves with economic problems. Systematic classification, alphabetical index in Russian, French and English. Extensive bibliography at the end of each section. Mezdunarodnye otnosenija posle vtoroj mirovoj vojny. Vol. 1 (1945-49). E d . A . G . Milejkovskij. M o s c o w , Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel'stvo politiceskoj literatury, 1962, 22 c m . , 759 p . , m a p , tabl., bibliogr., index. (Akademija N a u k S S S R . Institut mirovoj konomiki i mezdunarodnyh otnosenij.) Thisfirstvolume of a series on international relations after the Second World W a r goes u p to 1949. A n extensive bibliography cites the collections of Soviet and foreign documents and the host of secondary sources used. M U K H E R J E E , A . K . Annotated guide to reference materials in the human sciences. London, Asia Publishing House, 1962, 21 c m . , xvi + 267 p . , index, 35s. Annotated bibliography of over 1,000 works, directories, bibliographical publications, reviews etc., mainly in English and relating to anthropology and to a lesser degree to sociology and social psychology. There are errors and inaccuracies. T w o indexes (author and subject). Nacional'no-osvoboditel'noe dvizenie v latinskoj Amerike na sovremennom tape. E d . V . J. Avarin and M . V . Danilevic. M o s c o w , Izdatel'stvo social'no-konomiceskoj literatury, 1961, 21 c m . , 299 + 1 p . , tabl. (Akademija N a u k S S S R . Institut mirovoj konomiki i mezdunarodnyh otnosenij.) Ideological, economic and political situation in Latin America. Data o n the distribution of social strata, foreign investments and trade with the East. Special studies on C u b a , Venezuela, Chile, Mexico and Central America. N I Z A R D , Lucien. La jurisprudence administrative des circonstances exceptionnelles et la lgalit. Paris, Librairie gnrale de droit et de jurisprudence, 1952, 25 c m . , 295 p . , bibliogr., 37.40 F . (Bibliothque de droit public, 40.) Definition of the concept of exceptional circumstances, o n the basis of law and doctrine. Comparison with the jurisprudential solutions adopted.
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O B I , E n u e n w e m b a . Peace-Corpsism. N e w York, Pageant Press, 1962, 19 c m . , xxii + 78 p . $2.50. Analysis of the philosophical ideas implicit in a genuine 'Peace Corps' and the principles governing its establishment. Potential role of that body in constructing peace. P A V L O V , Ivan Vasil'evic. Kolhoznoe pravo. M o s c o w , Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel'stvo juridiceskoj literatury, i960, 23 c m . , 372 p . (Institut gosudarstva i prava Akademii Nauk SSSR.) A study of the theoretical basis of collective farm law and its application in practice. L a w s in force at the beginning of i960. PHILLIPS, Bernard S. The aging in a Central Illinois community. Urbana, 111. University of Illinois, 1962, 28 c m . , viii + 101 p . , fig., tabl. $2.50. (University of Illinois. Small H o m e s CouncilBuilding Research Council. Council o n C o m m u n i t y Development. Research Report 62-4.) Interview-survey conducted in Decatur (111.) a m o n g 346 persons aged over 60; housing situation, health, professional, social, religious and political activities, relations between the elderly and the rest of the community. P O K R O V S K I J , Aleksandr Ivanovic. Francuzskaja burzuaznaja politiceskaja konomija: Obnovlenie Hi krizis? M o s c o w , Izdatel'stvo Instituta mezdunarodnyh otnoenij, 1961, 20 c m . , 224 p . , tabl., bibliogr., index. (Akademija N a u k S S S R , Institut mirovoj konomiki i mezdunarodnyh otnoenij.) This study, sub-titled 'Revival or crisis?', reaches the conclusion that bourgeois political economy in France is on the downgrade. A bibliography is included. P O S T O N , Richard Waverly. Democracy speaks many tongues. Community development around the world. N e w York, Evanston, Harper and R o w , 1962, 21 c m . , xviii + 206 p., pi., bibliogr., index, $4.75. Despite its generous assistance, the United States has partially failed in its attempt to promote democracy in the underdeveloped countries. T h e author analyses the failures and suggests solutions which would enable the emergent States to take the road of economic and social development.
Problemy konomiki i politiki Francii posh vtoroj mirovoj vojny. M o s c o w , Izdatel'stv Akademii N a u k S S S R , 1962, 22 c m . , 604 p . , tabl. (Akademija N a u k S S S R , Institut mirovoj konomiki i mezdunarodnyh otnoenij.) France's economic and social problems after the Second World W a r are discussed at the infrastructural level, with a concluding study of the institutional and diplomatic aspects. Profit balances of the main French companies are given in an annex.
Progrs technique et March commun. Perspectives conomiques et sociales de l'applicatio nouvelles techniques. European Conference, Brussels, Palais des Congrs, 5-10 D e c e m ber i960. [Luxembourg] (Services des publications de la'Communaut europenne, 1962.) 2 vols., 23 c m . , 354, 736 p . , fig., tabl., fold-in. ( C o m m u n a u t conomique europenne. C o m m u n a u t europenne d u charbon et de l'acier. C o m m u n a u t europenne de l'nergie atomique.) Series of reports on the effect of technical progress on trends in employment, c o m petition, professional relations, investments and wages and on the various sectors of industry, transport and administration. S C A L F A R I , Eugenio. Le no-capitalisme italien. (Rapporto sul neo-capitalismo italiano). Traduit de l'italien par Roger H a r d y . Paris, Economie et h u m a n i s m e , les Editions ouvrires (1962). 23 c m . , 112 p . , tabl., 7.20 F . (Economie et Civilisation, V . ) Description of the main aspects of Italian economy at its present stage. 506
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S C H M I D T , Robert H . Saarpolitik 1945-1957. 3-bd. Entfaltung der Saarpolitik vom Scheitern der EVG bis zur Wiedervereinigung (1954-1957)- Berlin, Duncker u n d Humblot, 1962, 23 c m . , xii + 899 p . , facsim., m a p s , tabl. D M 86. (Verffentlichung des Instituts fr wissenschaftliche Politik der technischen Hochschule Darmstadt.) Third and last volume of a monumental history of the Saar after the Second World W a r , covering the period from the collapse of the European Defence C o m m u n i t y to the reincorporation of the Saar in the territory of the Federal Republic of G e r m a n y . It deals with all the economic, diplomatic and other aspects of that history, with emphasis on internal political questions: political parties and forces, referendum and elections. Official documents are given in an annex. There are also a detailed bibliography, an author index and a subject index covering the three volumes. Seminar on road accidents in Israel (Jerusalem 16.1.196s-13.3.196s). Proceedings . . . organized by the Institute of Criminology of the H e b r e w University of Jerusalem and published with the co-operation of the National Council for the Prevention of Accidents. Jerusalem, 1962, 27 c m . , xxvii + 133 p., tabl. (The H e b r e w University of Jerusalem. Faculty of L a w . Institute of Criminology. Publication 2.) Analysis of the causes, and study of the prevention, of road accidents in Israel the theme of a seminar organized in Israel at the beginning of 1962. It contains a record of the interventions in H e b r e w , with a s u m m a r y in English. S I L V A , Maria Manuela da. Desenvolvimento comunitario. Urna tcnica de progresso social. Lisbon, 1962, 21 c m . , 143 p., pi., bibliogr. (Associao industrial portuguesa. Estudos de economa aplicada, 16.) T h e object of this work is to m a k e the technique of community development m o r e widely k n o w n and to elucidate the concepts defining it: presentation of methods, description of several pilot experiments in community development, relationship between community development and economic development, etc. A n annex contains s u m m a r y accounts of thefirstthree seminars organized by the United Nations on the subject (1957, 1958 and 1959) and a short bibliography. S M I T H , J. H . The university teaching of social sciences: industrial sociology. W i t h an introduction b y J . D . Reynaud. Paris, Unesco, 1961, 21 c m . , 126p., bibliogr. (Teaching in the Social Sciences.) Development of industrial sociology, organization of university teaching, research in relation to teaching, scope of industrial sociology. S o m e recent national developments are described: Netherlands, Poland, U . S . S . R . and Latin America. Socits (Les) rurales franaises. lments de bibliographie runis par le Groupe de sociologie rurale d u C E S sous la direction de Henri Mendras. Preface by M a x . Sorre. Paris, Fondation nationale des sciences politiques, 1962, 24 c m . , 124 p . , index, 7 F . (Bibliographies franaises de sciences sociales, 3.) Bibliography of m o r e than 500 recent books and articles (most of them earlier than April 1959, however) relating to rural sociology, regional and local studies (monographs), social morphology, studies of economic, social and political life, agricultural organization, religious life and literature. S P E C T O R , Sherman David. Rumania at the Paris Peace Conference. A study of the diplomacy of loan I. C. Bratianu. N e w York, B o o k m a n Associates, 1962, 22 c m . , 368 p., inset m a p , bibliogr., index, $15. Achievement of R u m a n i a n unity, through the stages of the First World W a r and the peace treaties.
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S T E I N , Jerome L . The nature and efficiency of the foreign exchange market. Princeton (N.J.), Princeton University, 1962, 23 c m . , 58 p . , fig. (Princeton University. Department of Economics. International Finance Section. Essays in International Finance, 40.) Study of the operation of the foreign exchange market: organization, role, fluctuations; problems of forecasting.
S T E U B E R , Fritz A . The contribution of Switzerland to the economic and social developme of low-income countries. Winterthur, P . G . Keller, 1961, 23 c m . , 63 p . , bibliogr. A discussion of w h y and h o w far Switzerland should assist the underdeveloped countries, the structure of the assistance at present provided, the contribution of the Federal Government and non-governmental organizations, and ways and means of expanding the programme of bilateral aid. T I M A S H E F F , Nicholas S . The sociology of Luigi Sturzo. Baltimore, Dublin, Helicon Press, 1962, 22 c m . , viii + 247 p . , index., $5.95. Interpretation of Sturzo's teachings and assessment of his method. T U N S T A L L , Jeremy. Thefishermen.London, M a c G i b b o n and K e e , 1962, 22 c m . , 294 p . , pi., tabl., index, 25s. Study of all aspects of the arduous life of Britishfisher-folk:working and trade union life, family life, relations with the shipowners, status in society.
V E T T E R , H e r m a n n . Die Stellung des dialektischen Materialismus zum Prinzip des ausge schlossenen Widerspruchs. Berlin, Verlag der Meiler, 1962, 21 c m . , 84 p . , D M 4.80. (Sozialwissenschaftliche Schriftenreihe. Heft 1.) Theoretical and critical study of the place occupied in Marxist thought b y the principle of the overcoming of contradiction, and the discussions n o w taking place on this subject amongst authors faithful to the traditions of the dialectical materialism of M a r x , Stalin and M a o Tse-tung.
ViLAKAZi, Absolom. Zulu transformations. A study of the dynamics of social change Pietermaritzburg, University of Natal Press, 1962, 24 c m . , x + 168 p., fig., m a p s , bibliogr. Western ideas and concepts have had a very disturbing effect on certain tribal societies in the neighbourhood of D u r b a n , in Natal. T h e author analyses the problems of those societies in transition.
V I L ' E V S K I J , Oleg Ludvigovic. Kurdy. Vvedenie v itniceskuju istoriju kurdskogo narod M o s c o w , Leningrad, IzdateFstvo Akademii N a u k S S S R , 1961, 27 c m . , 167 p . (Akademija N a u k S S S R . Trudy Institua tnografii im. N . N . Mikluho Maklaja. Novaja serija. T o m L X V I I . ) This study of the Kurds based o n the material available through archaeology, semantics and literature constitutes an introduction to the ethnic history of this people from ancient times.
V I N C E R , Jurij Iosifovic. Anglijskie kapitalovlozenija za granicej v period imperialis (Ed.) A . I. Milejkovskij. M o s c o w , Izdatel'stvo Institua mezdunarodnyh otnoienij, ig6o, 23 c m . , 792 p . , tabl., biliogr. (Akademija N a u k S S S R . Institut mirovoj konomiki i mezdunarodnyh otnosenij.) This study of British foreign investments during the period of imperialism, i.e. from the beginning of the twentieth century, is divided into stages with emphasis on the period between the two World W a r s . T h e second part of the book gives an account of the main companies operating throughout the world with British capital.
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A N D PUBLICATIONS
W I N C H , Robert F.; Gross, Harriet Engel. Identification and its familiar determinants. Exposition of theory and results of pilot studies. (By) Robert F . W i n c h with the collaboration of Harriet Engel Gross. Indianapolis, N e w York, Bobbs-Merrill, 1962, 21 c m . , xvi + 223 p . , tabl., bibliogr., index, $2.95. (Advanced Studies in Sociology.) Study of social psychology, involving in the authors' view an explanation of psychological p h e n o m e n a b y means of sociological variables. T h e essential p h e n o m e n o n in this case is identification, the sociological environment studied being that of the family. Analysis of the concept of identification, description of the variables and relations between them, and various pilot studies on these problems. Z A N S T R A , H e r m a n . The construction of reality. Lectures on the philosophy of science, theory of knowledge and the relation between body, mind and personality. Given . . . as weekly lectures during the second semester of igsg-ig6o. With a commentary by J a m e s F. Ross. Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1962, 19 c m . , 139 p., fig., pi., index. Presentation of the philosophical principles governing the apprehension of reality: behaviourism, cybernetics, telepathy. Z U S M A N O V I C , Aleksandr Zaharovic. Imperialisticeskij razdel bassejna Kongo (1876i8g4 gg.). M o s c o w , Izdatel'stvo vostonoj literatury, 1962, 21 c m . , 356 p . , m a p , tabl., bibliogr., index. History of the colonization of the Congo basin, from the Marxist viewpoint.
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III. NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS A SEMINAR ON THE ANALYSIS OF LATIN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
PETER HEINTZ
T h e seminar, financed by Unesco, took place o n 27, 28 and 29 August 196a at the Universidad Nacional A u t n o m a de Mxico. T h e working sessions were chaired by D r . Peter Heintz, Director of the Latin American School of Sociology o f F L A C S O . T h e preparatory work was organized by Professor Ricardo Pozas of the National School of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Mexico in collaboration with the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences. T h e principal topicfor discussion was the analysis of Latin American communities. T h e main discussants were Gino Germani (Buenos Aires), Luis Costa Pinto (Ro de Janeiro), Lucien B r a m s (Santiago de Chile), Ricardo Pozas and Calixto Rangel Contla (Mexico) Eugenio Fonseca (San Jos, Costa Rica) and Peter Heintz (Santiago de Chile). T h e reasons for selection of this topic were twofold. First, the intention was to classify Latin American c o m m u n i t y studies systematically so as to m a k e them accessible to sociologists as an important source of secondhand data. Most of these studies are carried out b y anthropologists using a great variety of methods and techniques and theoretical frames of reference. Nevertheless, a classification of these studies could b e undertaken o n the basis of a series of conventional variables normally included b y anthropologists in community studies. T h e conventional variables selected were also to be of s o m e sociological relevance. T h e second purpose w a s to present a theoretical scheme or system of hypotheses which could b e tested with the help of the conventional variables mentioned above. T h e scheme should be of high sociological relevance. These purposes were interrelated, the theoretical one providing s o m e criteria for the selection of the relevant variables. M r . Pozas worked out a scheme of analysis for existing community studies which was distributed a m o n g a n u m b e r of collaborators in the following Latin American countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Brazil. In the original list s o m e other countries were included which did not respond. T h e total n u m b e r of community studies analysed in this w a y was 65, but a small fraction of the totality of community studies carried out in Latin America. T h e analyses of particular c o m m u n i t y studies were then summarized and synthesized by D r . Ricardo Pozas and subjected to a critical review b y the participants of the seminar with the a i m of finding some guide for the revision of the original scheme of analysis. This w a s in fact the main task which the seminar was intended to fulfil. At the s a m e time, the seminar discussed s o m e of the theoretical aspects involved. I shall refer below to the theoretical foundation of a comparative study based on the uniform application of the scheme of analysis. W e first assumed the existence of a dimension n a m e d traditionalism-modernism. This dimension w a s supposed to consist of a series of complex configurations of variables, configurations which are interconnected by what m a y be called systematic variation a n d which correspond to different points along the
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above-mentioned dimension. Systemetic variation implies that there is a rule which governs the change from one point to the other. This is the theoretical interpretation of the four levels of communities distinguished within the seminar's scheme of analysis. These levels are the following: Indian communities; Indio-mestiza communities; rural communities; and semi-urban communities. T h e levels or configurations considered included the following seven variables: language and degree of literacy; degree of isolation; technology; destination of economic production; tendency of existing social groupings; forms of government; and dominant religion. T h e scheme of analysis defined four levels in each variable corresponding to the four levels of communities along the traditionalism-modernism dimension. In sociological literature, there is n o general consensus about which are the variables that form the complex configurations which change in a systematic w a y from one end to the other along the dimension considered. H o w e v e r , from the beginning our choice was limited by the fact that w e had to look for conventional variables included by anthropologists in their community studies. N o r did w e k n o w whether it is correct to distinguish four levels or configurations in the sense mentioned above. There are other possibilities: a continuum or a greater or a smaller n u m b e r of levels. T h e main reason for distinguishing these levels was a practical classificatory, not a theoretical, one. T h e series of configurations can theoretically be conceived of as different states of a moving equilibrium. The rule of systematic variation would then define what is called here a moving equilibrium. W e by no means assumed that all communities to be analysed would necessarily fall into one or other of the four levels of communities considered. Neither did w e assume that all of them would represent possible equilibria along one (or various) lines of moving equilibria. O n the contrary, w e predicted that w e would find communities which, according to our theoretical scheme, would have to be described as being in a state of disequilibrium with reference to one or several moving equilibria. This is a very important point. W e were in fact mainly interested in the dynamics or process of community change, although w e did not include the time dimension in our scheme of analysis. For this reason, w e assumed that there might exist uneven changes occurring within the communities studied. This means that the process of modernization does not necessarily affect all aspects of the community at the same time and to the same degree. This problem can also be expressed in terms of the theory developed by Godfrey and Monica Wilson in their book The Analysis of Social Change (Cambridge 1945). Modernization can then be described as an enlargement of the scale of the social unit considered. T h e scale is defined as the size of the field of interaction of the unit under consideration, which in our study coincides with the local community. T h e process of modernization, i.e. the m o v e ment from one level to the next, can be accompanied by a differential enlargement of the scales of different sub-groups within the c o m m u n i t y . Uneven change is the same as differential enlargement of scale. Adopting this conceptualization, w e m a y then introduce two main theoretical postulates: (a) the s u m of the intensities of the social relationships of the unit considered tends to be constant over time; and (b) the relationships considered between individuals tend to be homogeneous with respect to intensity, i.e., the intensities invested by the partners of such relationships tend to be equivalent. These two postulates m a y be used for defining the equilibrium corresponding to the various levels along the traditionalism-modernism dimension. A disequilibrium can then be defined in terms of an excess or deficit of the total intensity within the network of social relationships of the unit and as a discrepancy between the intensities invested by the participants of the social relationships considered. There are a series of hypotheses which can be formulated o n the basis of these two postulates and on the assumption of a partial enlargement of the scale of the unit
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considered, i.e., a n enlargement confined to a sector of the c o m m u n i t y not immediately affecting the sale of other sectors. A partial enlargement of the scale will produce o n e or other of the following t w o consequences: (a) C o m p l e x opposition which m e a n s the convergence of incompatible scales o n those individuals w h o are partially extending their scale. C o m p l e x opposition will produce, according to AlvinBoskoffin his study: 'Social indecision: a dysfunctional focus of transitional society' (Social Forces, M a y 1959, vol. 37, n o . 4 , p . 305-11) w h a t he calls social indecision, that is a n impossibility of solving the individual problem of tension between the convergent scales. W e m a y also speak of the existence of a latent conflict whose latency prevents a rational solution of the underlying conflict. This is important for a theory of a change since such a contradiction m a y prevent a m o v e m e n t to a n e w state of equilibrium. (b) Total or partial rupture in the relationships between those sub-groups which enlarged their scales a n d those which did not. In this case, a n e w equilibrium m a y b e reached b y those w h o enlarged their scale a n d w h o , through breaking relationships with other sub-groups, succeed in reducing the total intensity to the normal level in conformity with thefirstpostulate mentioned above. Other hypotheses m a y refer to preferential lines of enlargement of scale in the process of modernization. S o w e m a y assume that the enlargement of scale w o u l d occur preferentially between social equals or, in other words, o n horizontal (and not vertical) lines. W e m a y also assume that the conditions which determine psychic a n d geographical mobility delimit sectors of the local society which are m o r e likely to enlarge their scale than other sectors of the s a m e c o m m u n i t y . This theory has been tested in a study carried out b y the Latin A m e r i c a n Faculty of Social Sciences concerning the uneven process of change from p r e d o m inantly particularistic relationships to predominantly universalistic ones. It is also applicable to the secondhand data which have been systematically organized for the Mexican seminar. Before going o n to thefirstresults of the preliminary analysis, it is necessary to point out that the variables chosen need m u c h m o r e refinement, not only in t h e m selves but also with respect to the different levels w e distinguish. Furthermore, the revision of the preliminary study m a y lead to the elimination of s o m e of the variables and to the addition of n e w ones. It w a s the task of the seminar to elaborate s o m e criteria in order to continue this process of revision of the initial propositions. In order to understand our preliminary results a n d their relationships to our theoretical scheme, it is necessary to give s o m e m o r e information o n the variables chosen. T h e variable o n language a n d degree of literacy refers to the relation between the use of a native a n d of a European language. T h e variable o n the degree of isolation refers to the m e a n s of travel and transport in use. T h e variable o n technology refers to different types of sources of energy used in economic production, i.e. h u m a n , animal a n d different types of mechanical energy. T h e variable o n the destination of the production refers to the distribution of the produce, such as for selfconsumption or for the market in different proportions. W i t h respect to the variable o n the tendency of existing social groupings, it is necessary to refer to the four levels. T h e first level is defined as primary relationships of the extended family, the clan, etc. O n the second level these structures lose 'cohesion a n d n e w groups with c o m petitive tendencies appear. O n the third level there is a m a r k e d separation of social strata based o n differences in land-owning or in the accumulation of consumption goods. O n the fourth level the social stratification is m o r e complex a n d is centred u p o n occupational as well as o n economic differences within the c o m m u n i t y , accompanied b y m o r e social mobility between the strata. T h e variable o n the forms of government refers to different forms of local government a n d administration leading from pre-colonial a n d colonial forms to local governments which are tied to national political institutions. W e excluded the variable on dominant religion
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because it did not seem to be associated with other variables in a significant w a y . N o w , taking into account the available data which as w e have stated need m u c h refinement before final results can be obtained, the following tendencies show up. ( W e shall call 'association' the degree of coincidence of variables with respect to the levels or configurations considered.) T h e variables which are most associated with the tendency of social groupings are technology and destination of economic production. T h e most frequent association of a single variable with the tendency of social groupings is destination of production. T h e social groupings variable shows a clear tendency towards relatively low levels, that is to say, towards the traditionalistic end of the dimension. If w e look for the variables which show the greatest distance (two or more levels) to the social groupings variable placed o n a relatively low level, the most frequent one is found to be language and degree of literacy, government and isolation. There is a relatively high association between destination of production on one side and language, literacy and isolation on the other. N o w , if w e interpret our four community levels as different states of a moving equilibrium, w e m a y conclude that the variable 'destination of economic production' represents the point of convergence of major tensions as expressions of disequilibria between the leading variables such as 'language, literacy' and 'isolation' and the lagging variables, i.e. the 'tendency of social groupings'. In other words, the line of preferencial enlargement of scale as shown by our data is represented by the means of communication, whereas the major resistances seem to be located within the variable which represents types of social structure. Furthermore, the above-mentioned possible consequences of tensions between incompatible scales should preferentially be looked for in the area of production. W e m a y guess that the organizations of economic production present, on the level of the higher ranks, a social locus which is relatively open to a n enlargement of scale along the lines delimited by language and other means of communication, whereas the lower ranks of the same organizations show a tendency to maintain their involvement in the lagging social structure. These preliminary results seem to be perfectly consistent with our theoretical scheme. However, w e lack data which would allow us to discriminate between the two consequences pointed out above, i.e. complex opposition and rupture. That is to say w e do not k n o w in which cases social indecision prevails as a factor which m a y explain the persistence in time of disequilibria within the complex of variables considered. In any case, it would be highly interesting to pursue this line of research as it applies to the change of local communities within Latin America. It has even been suggested by one of the participants thatfirsthand data should be gathered systematically in order to test the theory, which evidently m a y still be enriched by n e w hypotheses. In conclusion, I should like to stress that the preparation of the seminar and the contributions of the participants are the result of a remarkable co-operative effort by different institutions and scholars from different Latin American countries and that there still are some frequently ignored sources of secondhand data which m a y be relevant for sociologists, data that can be recuperated even within a frame of reference that is rather sophisticated in theoretical terms. It would be highly desirable if the work initiated for the Mexican seminar could be continued and even enlarged, and if classified summaries of the community studies together with the results of the testing of the theoretical scheme were published. Such a publication would be especially useful for Latin American sociologists w h o are interested in the dynamics of community change.
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V o l u m e 1 contains the main contributions to the plenary sessions on ' T h e sociologists, the policy-makers and the public' and ' T h e nature and problems of sociological theory'. T h efirsttheme is treated from the point of view of communication between the sociologists and the policy-makers, and between the sociologists and the general public. T h e papers dealing with the second theme attempt to define the character of sociological 'explication', to m a k e a historical survey of sociological theories, and estimate their value. T h e contributors to this volume are: A . Sauvy, D . Chosh, R . Treves, A . Vratusa, R . Weitz, E . G . Hughes, T . Agersnap, F . Fernandes, S. Groenman, J. Hochfeld, R . Knig, E . Gellner, H . Lefebvre, A . K . Saran and P . A . Sorokin. Volume 2 , entitled ' T h e Sociology of Development', deals firstly with the early stages of growth and contains papers o n the following topics: n e w groups, entrepreneurship, the development of a labour market, the economic requirements of modern industrialization, urbanization, and the traditional work ethos. T h e second part is concerned with the maintenance of growth and includes contributions on administration and bureaucracy, industrialization and industrialism, the cultural integration of growing societies. T h e contributors to this volume are: R . F . Behrendt, R . Clment, B . F . Hoselitz, S. Kuznets, A . Pizzorno, J . - D . Reynaud, M . Crozier, A . S. Feldman and W . E . Moore, J. M a q u e t , and J. Stoetzel. Volume 3 will comprise the reports on the discussions and a selection of the papers contributed to the working groups on all three themes. (The sociologists, the policymakers and the public. T h e break with traditionalism, religion and development, changes in urban and rural areas, citizenship and political authority, traditional and modern lites. Historical and comparative studies, functionalism, Marxism, models and theory formation.) T h e contents of Volume 4 will be as follows: the reports and a selection of the papers prepared for the meetings held on the sociology of knowledge and by the ISA research committees on urban/rural sociology, industrial sociology, the sociology of the family, mass communications, political sociology, psychiatric sociology, the sociology of religions, and the sociology of leisure and popular culture; the report on the second plenary session on the sociology of development; a list of the papers contributed to the congress and the list of congress participants. Volumes 1 and 2 are n o w available. Volumes 3 and 4 appear in June 1963. Prices ( U . S . dollars) are as follows : Vol. 1, $7; Vol. 2, $6; Vol. 3, $8; Vol. 4 , $8; or $25 for all four volumes (obtainable from the ISA Secretariat, 116 rue des Flamands, Louvain, Belgium).
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