The aim of this study is to explore the sources of attitude constraints regarding the role of government in the economy, and to find out whether the sources of these constraints are the same as in Western democracies. Use is made of Converse’s approach to conceptualize attitude constraint where an individual’s belief system is seen to be a configuration of attitudes and values characterized by a functional interdependence, or constraint. This constraint may be interpreted in terms of the probability of being able to predict one attitude having knowledge of another. In this study, there is a review of the sources of attitude constraint and related measurement issues. Using ISSP 2006 (Role of Government module) an analysis of attitudinal constraints is presented using two attitudinal scales. This research confirms that the sources of attitude constraint in the Czech Republic are similar to those observed in Western Europe and the USA. Specifically, class, education, and other social-demographic variables are shown to have very limited effects. Moreover, Converse’s contention that attitude constraints are strongly determined by political involvement, political knowledge, or party identification is also shown to be valid for Czech society., Lukáš Linek., 1 obrázek, 4 tabulky, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé
This article explores how aggregate level data may be used to make inferences about individual level behaviour. A common strategy in the past was to assume that the relations evident in aggregated data are also present in individual data. Analysis of datasets where there is both individual and aggregated information demonstrates that this assumption is most often incorrect. This means that the relationships observed between variables at an aggregated level are unlikely to be observed in individual level data. This is a problem because quite often social scientists only have aggregated data for exploring individual level behaviour. A key question explored in this article is how is it possible to validly and reliably use aggregated datasets to make inferences about relationships between variables at the individual level. An example analysis is given using electoral data from the Czech Republic., Pat Lyons., 4 obrázky, 4 tabulky, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé
The paper deals with powerlessness as one of the possible meanings of alienation, and presents Neal’s Powerlessness Scale as a means for measuring this concept. The aim of this research is to find out if it is possible to adopt the Neal’s research technique, developed in the context of the American culture in the late 1950s, to empirical sociological research in the Czech Republic. This issue is important because there is at present no standard attitudinal instrument for measuring a persons’ perception of their power to exert influence over socio-political events. An initial test of the reliability and internal and external validity of Neal’s scale is undertaken using a non-representative sample of the Czech population. Results of this quantitative analysis suggest that a subset of nine items from the original twelve item scale is the most reliable and valid measure of a person’s sense of control over the socio-political events within the Czech cultural milieu. Importantly, the process of data collection reveals several problematic features of Neal’s powerlessness scale, and it is recommended that certain alterations before its further use in the Czech context., Marie Traxlerová, Ladislav Rabušic., 4 tabulky, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé
Tento článek zkoumá způsoby měření politických znalostí. Hlavním předpokladem většiny prací v daném oboru je myšlenka, že politické znalosti jsou charakteristikou, která náleží pouze jedinci. Výzkum, na němž je založen tento text, předpokládá, že politické znalosti jsou charakteristikou jak jedinců, tak způsobů měření těchto znalostí. Analýzy jsou založené na baterii otázek na politické znalosti, jež byla implementována v šetření ISSP Role vlády IV (2006). Tento článek demonstruje, že předpoklad jednodimenzionality politických znalostí nesmí být chápán jako daný a musí být naopak testován. Přítomnost více než jedné dimenze politických znalostí je teoreticky důležitá, neboť implikuje, že někteří občané se zajímají pouze o specifické aspekty politiky. To má významné důsledky pro naše chápání a hodnocení demokratického systému vládnutí., Pat Lyons., 7 tabulek, and Obsahuje bibliografii
This article reports the results of a content analysis of recently published papers on the relationship(s) between socioeconomic status and health. This study explores how scholars conceptualize and measure socioeconomic status and health. Consequently, this research investigates if significant differences in measurement exist both across subfields within sociology and across disciplines. The evidence presented reveals a remarkable variation in measurement strategies. Moreover, this variation exhibits a pattern that is not entirely predictable. This article concludes by presenting in detail some of the most widely used health indicators and proposing that current measurement practice may be improved by utilizing some more advanced scaling strategies., Martin Kreidl, Lucie Hošková., 4 tabulky, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé