L. Harmon Zeigler

The diffusion of feminist ideology

According to Converse, the ideas/beliefs of an ideology are diffused in packages—i.e., diffusion necessarily involves constraint. However, a person may become aware of these “packages” and the substance of an ideology of which they are a part without accepting them. Consequently, diffusion produces an increase in both awareness and constraint with the former increasing more than the latter. Diffusion may also take two forms. The ideology may be accepted by more members of the same social class from which the movements leaders were recruited (horizontal diffusion); or the ideology may spread beyond the confines of the original class to attract the support of the less advantaged (vertcal diffusion).We apply this model of diffusion to the feminist movement in the United States for the period 1972 to 1976. The weight of our evidence indicates that significant horizontal as well as vertical diffusion has occurred. It appears that as the general public became more aware of feminist ideas and beliefs, support for these ideas and beliefs increased along with the constraint between various measures of them.

Delphi, political philosophy and the future

Abstract Based on the Delphi technique, the project described in this article seeks to integrate the teaching of classical political science with the analysis of problems facing contemporary and future society. Experts on particular political philosophers of the past were asked to imagine how those men would have viewed and solved present political problems, and thus to use their knowledge to develop a new approach to policy analysis.

The Effects of Political Ideology and Educational Climates On Student Dissent

tudent dissent has taken on a variety of forms, and the focus of that dissent has shifted with the urgency of contemporary issues. Yet little is known about the current trends of student unrest in the 1970s. The 1960s heralded a period of unprecedented student activism, disruption, and violence on college campuses and high schools, culminating in Kent State shootings. In response to contemporary social and political problems youth emerged as an active political force in society. There are signs, however, that the 1970s has ushered in a new era of student dissent-a movement from political optimism to skepticism and alienation; the focus now shifting from the total society to the immediate environment (MacGregor, 1971; Psychology Today, 1969). After a decade of sit-ins, strikes, riots, and violence, students describing the new

A MODERATE'S VICTORY IN A SOUTHERN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Current Research is a section of the Quarterly reserved for brief reports of research, discussions of unsolved problems, presentations of neat methodological tricks, and other items that arise from the daily work of researchers. It provides an opportunity for discussion in print of questions and results that may not warrant a full-blown article. Researchers will find in this section a place to exhibit data that are not adequate to substantiate important generalizations but seem promising in their implications or suggest lines of further theoretical exploration. Succinct case histories are welcomed, as well as hypotheses and insights that may be useful to other students of public opinion. Notes published here are not intended to rank below the regular articles in quality or significance, but are distinguished by their shorter length, greater informality, and more tentative nature.