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It is argued that community quality of fife and social impact studies are similar in nature and can be integrated with a common analytical model for conducting community assessments. All such assessments must incorporate the basic values prevailing in the community, as expressed by community leaders and various segments of the population. Community assessments must also include both objective and subjective procedures, as neither approach is meaningful by itself, The initial stages of the proposed community assessment process are illustrated with research conducted on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. That study mapped the value structure of the island's residents, from which social indicators for the island were derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Merton has made an important distinction between the "history" any "systematics" of sociological theory, and outlined the valuable functions of the former. Most histories of sociology, however, have been "presentist" or "Whiggish" in perspective; we propose an "historicist" alternative. Within this perspective, Durkheim's response to Spencer is analyzed in three areas: (1) the relation between "individual" and "society;" (2) evolution and social change; and (3) the scope and method of sociology. In these areas, Durkheim's critical style reveals a repetitive theme which is termed "inversion." The essay concludes by re-affirming Merton's distinction and urging that the "historicist" perspective is the most valid and useful approach to the history of sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary sociological writings abound with references to anomie, and the topic is fast becoming a major theoretical vogue. Yet many users of the concept fail to define it adequately or to place it in any larger theoretical context. As originally coined by Durkheim, the term anomie is a French translation of the Greek anomia, which means "no laws." The commonly used English equivalent of "normlessness" catches the literal meaning of anomie, but it fails to convey any single clear idea to many sociologists. We glibly use the concept without bothering to clarify its meaning. Furthermore, the simple notion of "lack or norms" is relatively worthless, since such a condition rarely if ever exists in any society. Durkheim discussed the idea of anomie at some length both in The Division of Labor in Society and in Suicide. Because the same term is used in both works, and because the concepts presented are similar in many ways, most sociologists have assumed that they were identical. In fact, however, Durkheim gave us two quite distinct conceptions of anomie. This paper is an attempt to separate and clarify these two meanings of anomie, and to relate both of them to more inclusive theories of social organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this paper are to propose a new concept for use in attitude studies; to explain one way in which this concept has been operationalized; to suggest an hypothesis for use in further studies of this concept; and to present some preliminary research findings concerning this hypothesis. Social scientists have long been interested in differences and similarities between people holding "liberal" and "conservative" attitudes toward various issues and problems of the day. Countless numbers of research studies have been conducted in this area. Perhaps most interesting among these studies have been several attempts to determine whether people tend to have a general liberal-conservative orientation, or whether we must expect their attitudes to vary in different situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides a correction to an article about motion picture attendance and social isolation.