Richard Startup

The effect of geographical factors on the job satisfaction of university teachers

This article reports on the effect of geographical factors on the job satisfaction of university lecturers in a provincial university. 189 university teachers at a Welsh University College who responded to a job satisfaction questionnaire (51.9 per cent) indicated whether the geographical location of the College in relation to the local town and its immediate environment affected job satisfaction, and whether the geographical position of the College relative to other parts of Britain affected job satisfaction. Results indicate that most teachers found the immediate environment contributed positively to job satisfaction, whereas, the geographical position of the College relative to other parts of Britain contributed in more instances to job dissatisfaction than to satisfaction. A major reason given for this dissatisfaction involved feelings of academic isolation, such as isolation from adequate library facilities and from other colleagues in the same discipline. Those who attended school in Wales were sign...

Researching a traditional territorial organisation: analogy, verstehen and the sociological imagination

Reports on a study of the state of the (Anglican) Church in Wales, which investigated the Church in Wales as a sociological institution through attitudes held by the clergy and lay members of the Church. Asserts that churches are institutional associational groups with rational‐bureaucratic forms of administration, rather than organizations, but that it helps to conceptualize the church as if it were an organization. Outlines some of the problems the Church faces – maintaining a presence in sparsely populated areas, secularization, decreasing personnel, and conservatism. Discusses the Church’s theory of itself and explores the conceptual world of the laity with regard to the nature of the Church, its structure, and the relationship between the Church and the world. Concludes that social enquiry is all about listening.

The decline of a liberal mainstream church : Issues and problems for the Church in Wales (UK)

Outlines some of the main issues in declining membership facing the Anglican Church in Wales including doctrine, clergy, laity, evangelism and variety in worship. Considers the growth of charismatic churches and the success of those with stricter codes. Concludes that many look to the church for occasional offices such as birth, marriage and death but little else. Advocates an element of strictness in order that the individual can see a difference in belonging. Points to a growth in affluence bringing tolerance and respectability and a fall in the birth rate of potential adherents.

Elements of religious belief and social values among the laity of the church in Wales

Abstract This paper explores the relationship between religious beliefs and secular attitudes of lay people within a single church, the Anglican Province of Wales (UK). The origins of the data are described and findings as to the distinctive social characteristics of the laity reported. Results of the analysis of the interrelationship between different dimensions of religious belief are reported and discussed. The secular attitudes of the laity are compared with those of the British population, and found to be on the whole more ‘liberal’. While some differences between the secular attitudes of the laity and the general population are clearly related to the distinctive social position of the former, social location is unable to explain all of these differences. A number of relationships between belief and secular attitudes are described. Anglicans with more ‘catholic’ beliefs seem more concerned in their secular attitudes with issues which they perceive as involving rule breaking or attitudes to authority,...