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The article presents information on the work of sociologist Vilfredo Pareto. The paper attempts a conjunction of the two perspectives in the case of Pareto's sociology. The first refers to Pareto's role in relation to the crisis of the utilitarian-positivistic model of social action and the second concerns the "subjectivistic" crisis of both social and "natural" sciences. Pareto's recognizing the predominance of the non-logical element in human action has counterparts, even if couched in different terms, in the works of diverse scholars. More than any one else, Pareto then endeavors a super-historical generalization. It is this effort that allows him to recognize the importance of the immutability of the domination of some men over others and also to direct attention to the cyclical nature of human affairs, precisely at a time when the fashion was the search for linear directions in human evolution. The contradictions that may easily be brought to light through a reading of Pareto are, however, the very same one find in more recent authors.

The article discusses various issues related to welfare research. One of the biggest conceptual dilemmas in welfare research is the definitional problem. A few social scientists have stepped back from empirical data and have developed a panoramic view of the welfare system or have struggled to provide a conceptual framework for a field one might term the social science of welfare. These analysts have not been content with the everyday situation. Even among those who have made important contributions toward delineating a science of social welfare there is as yet no agreement on what should or should not be included in definitions, and by implication social science analyses, of social welfare. Despite definitional limitations, current welfare research has developed substantial information about public assistance programs and recipients. Several research papers, particularly that of economists, have zeroed in on the determinants of work-welfare choices. In spite of the growing literature on recipients little attention has been given to demographic or ecological analysis. Since public assessments have accentuated speculative propositions linking demographic change to welfare problems, it would be appropriate for more social scientists to undertake such analysis.

The article discusses the basis of urbanism in Texas. The paper presented in the article is in the nature of a preliminary report of a study begun some months ago on the subject of urbanism in Texas. While it is necessarily incomplete, the facts already secured justify presentation of certain conclusions as to the causal factors involved in the location and development of cities in this state. No particular method is utilized in the study to the exclusion of others. Geography is consulted for the facts about the natural environment, to which human life must inevitably adapt itself. History yields information about events, many apparently accidental, which have figured in the location of settlements, later expanded into cities. Statistical correlations show connections between various phenomena, from which the relationship of cause and effect may be inferred. Case studies of selected units give the necessary detail for a sympathetic understanding and appreciation of the interplay of forces between individual and community. The plan of the study as a whole is cast on broad lines. Taking aggregation of population as the prerequisite of urbanism, the investigators have undertaken, as their first task, to present a picture of growth of urban population in Texas. This is obviously necessary for a delineation of the field. The second task involves the discovery, classification and evaluation of the factors responsible for the location and increase of urban aggregations.

This article presents information on several events organized by the Southwestern Social Science Association, to be held in 1952. The Association will hold its annual convention for 1952 in Dallas, Texas, on April 11 and 12. General headquarters for the convention will be at the Baker Hotel, Commerce and Akard. Arrangement for section luncheon meetings have been made by several sections, including Accounting, Geography, Social Science Introductory Course, and the American Business Writing Association. These will all be held at 12:30 p.m. on April 11. The Southwestern Sociological Society, which constitutes the sociology section of the Association, sponsors each year a program for students in sociology to coincide with the annual meeting. Headquarters and meetings will be held in Baker, on April 11. The general business meeting of the Association is scheduled at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Full attendance is essential to the continued success of the Association. Section business meetings will he held on Friday afternoon immediately following the presentation of papers and discussions. The members of each section elect a chairman and an associate editor.

In this paper, the authors will critically examine a central, though neglected, aspect of political socialization research--the learning concept. Following a discussion of the current status of the learning concept, they propose a research strategy towards the operationalization of the concept in political socialization research and exemplify the approach with a specific learning paradigm adopted from experimental psychology. In a field such as psychology which evidences a long history of research in the study of learning as a general concept, there is a sharp disagreement as to what precisely is meant by "the learning process." Since psychologists differ with regard to the learning process, the unqualified utilization of the concept within political socialization research is highly questionable. Moreover, the failure to explicate clearly the meaning of the learning process in political socialization research has precluded the establishment of the "empirical import" of the concept. Inclusion of the term "political learning" as an integral element in a synthetic mode of discourse requires that the empirical import of the term be established.

Presents an introduction to papers related to sociology that appear in the December 1974 issue of the journal "Social Science Quarterly."