This study focuses on the personal and consumer values of Taiwanese students. Particular focus is placed on determining whether the materialism scales of Ronald Inglehart (1997), Richard Belk (1985), and Marsha Richins and Scott Dawson (1992) can be used interchangeably to measure materialism or whether they measure slightly different dimensions of respondents¡¦ personal values. The World Values Survey was used to allow the current sample to be compared to international results, as well as to past surveys of Taiwanese. Correlation analysis was utilized to determine the strength of relationships between the three materialism scales. The analysis phase showed that materialism as defined by Belk (1985) and Richins and Dawson (1992) were more strongly related to each other than to the materialism scale created by Inglehart. This study also finds that while the population of Taiwan is very similar to that of China based on the findings of the World Values Survey, the current sample of students is actually dissimilar to the general population of Taiwan. The current sample implies a mixture of materialist and postmaterialist values that more closely resembles the populations of Japan or the United States than the general population of Taiwan. These findings are consistent with literature suggesting that younger, more affluent sectors of a population will show stronger postmaterialist values than older, less affluent groups.

This study investigated the human perception of certain social values to improve national well-being. It focused on the relative importance of two values, innovation and sustainability. Finally, it examined the possibility of a perceived trade-off between these two values by identifying whether a value change occurred among people from developed and developing countries under both constrained (forced-choice) and unconstrained (free-choice) rating conditions. The perceived importance of social values was measured in a survey using an eleven point rating scale. The perceived trade-off and the value change were identified by analyzing rating responses of the survey from test to retest. The analysis found that participants experienced a significant value change from test to retest and participants had different value preference depending on their country type, either developed or developing. This study consisted of two parts. The exploratory pilot study was conducted based on the Management Sciences Student Survey. This survey gathered information about the importance of selected social values from sixteen graduate students in the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo. The confirmatory main study was conducted using a web-based survey, Global Representative Value Change Survey. It collected information about the importance of the social values from close to three hundred students at the university at both test (Time One) and retest (Time Two). In this way, it enabled the researcher to identify a value change over time that was primarily attributed to a salience manipulation of innovation and sustainability trade-off. With a focus on the trade-off, the results revealed that all participants from developed and developing countries experienced a significant value change under the unconstrained condition, while very few significant value changes took place under the constrained condition. This study implies that people tend to maintain their value consistency and are not inclined to trade-off innovation for sustainability. If these values can co-exist in harmony and without compromise, people are prepared to give due consideration to sustainability, but not at the compromise to innovation. Implications are highlighted for educators, policy makers, and managers of technological innovation and change.

This study investigated the human perception of certain social values to improve national well-being. It focused on the relative importance of two values, innovation and sustainability. Finally, it examined the possibility of a perceived trade-off between these two values by identifying whether a value change occurred among people from developed and developing countries under both constrained (forced-choice) and unconstrained (free-choice) rating conditions. The perceived importance of social values was measured in a survey using an eleven point rating scale. The perceived trade-off and the value change were identified by analyzing rating responses of the survey from test to retest. The analysis found that participants experienced a significant value change from test to retest and participants had different value preference depending on their country type, either developed or developing. This study consisted of two parts. The exploratory pilot study was conducted based on the Management Sciences Student Survey. This survey gathered information about the importance of selected social values from sixteen graduate students in the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo. The confirmatory main study was conducted using a web-based survey, Global Representative Value Change Survey. It collected information about the importance of the social values from close to three hundred students at the university at both test (Time One) and retest (Time Two). In this way, it enabled the researcher to identify a value change over time that was primarily attributed to a salience manipulation of innovation and sustainability trade-off. With a focus on the trade-off, the results revealed that all participants from developed and developing countries experienced a significant value change under the unconstrained condition, while very few significant value changes took place under the constrained condition. This study implies that people tend to maintain their value consistency and are not inclined to trade-off innovation for sustainability. If these values can co-exist in harmony and without compromise, people are prepared to give due consideration to sustainability, but not at the compromise to innovation. Implications are highlighted for educators, policy makers, and managers of technological innovation and change.

The thesis presents analysis on four types of social statuses (as defined by Linton and Merton), namely volunteer, carer for an adult, child carer, and friend, in the second half of life in Germany based on the German Ageing Survey. In reference to the cultural sociological theories of Gerhard Schulze, the impact of retirement as life event on older adults’ lifestyle and likelihood of adopting these statuses is critically discussed. The use of the category of ‘old adult’ is put into question. It is found that between 1996 and 2008 the share of volunteers and of people spending time on leisure activities in company has increased in all age groups in the German population aged 50 and over. Carers, on the other hand, showed stable numbers with decreasing time investment, and the share of people looking after children was on the decline. All social statuses were represented in different numbers in Eastern and Western Germany, with Eastern Germany showing less engagement especially in volunteering and social leisure activities. Possible reasons for this are discussed. The volunteer and friend statuses were selected as dependent variables for regression models of the influence of retirement. The models based on cross-sectional as well as the models based on panel data showed that there was at best a marginal influence of retirement on a person’s likelihood of volunteering or spending leisure time with friends and relatives. With Gerhard Schulze’s theory of the ‘event society’, it is argued that the reason for the increase of volunteers and of people more actively cultivating their friend status amongst older Germans is that they no longer significantly differ in their value orientations and lifestyles from younger adults and that therefore the persistent founding of research and social policy on age categories is no longer a valid approach.

Gentrification applies not only to the largest and oldest cities; it is a multi-scalar phenomenon playing out in smaller and less prominent settings as well. This study examines temporal changes in property values, demographic characteristics, and types of businesses in the central Oklahoma City area. A major urban revitalization project which began in 1993 created strong gentrification characteristics near the renewal's epicenter, the Bricktown entertainment district. Data suggest that several specific neighborhoods in the surrounding area exhibited rising property values, improving educational attainment rates, decreasing household sizes, and a shift toward cosmopolitan retail activity. While it is evident that Bricktown has been transformed, the socio-economic traits of surrounding neighborhoods have been altered by the ripple effects of urban renewal.

In theory of population migration, two major points of view are ¡©economic benefits¡ª and ¡©amenity of life¡ª. However, this research found that people still migrate to where land taxes is higher than others. This research tried to observe relation of individual value and migration of population and provided suggestion of factors of youth labor migration to authority. This case study of youth included questionary and analysis of statistics , treated affection of value change of youth to factors of population migration. By way of case study, results of this research reveal that affection of value tendency and selection of region conditions. First, there is significance regarding age, sex, city and county of census register, city and county of people grow up before 15 years, region, trade of father, level of education of father, socioeconomic status of family, value tendency of youth and selection of region conditions. Second, there is significance regarding value tendency of youth and selection of region conditions. Third, there is significance regarding value tendency of youth and selection of locate region conditions. In contrast, there is not significance regarding value tendency of youth and selection of work region conditions.

Esta pesquisa, com caráter conclusivo descritivo, buscou verificar se os valores pessoais mudam ao longo da vida, comparando-se dois diferentes momentos – em torno dos 25 anos e em torno dos 60 anos. Tendo como principal referencial teórico os trabalhos de Schwartz (1992; 2005b) e de Bardi et al. (2009), questionaram-se 106 pessoas que vivem, predominantemente, na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, através de survey (PVQ-21) aplicada em entrevistas face a face, sobre os valores pessoais hoje e, com perguntas com abordagem histórico-longitudinal, resgataram-se os valores pessoais em torno dos 25 anos. O comparativo intragrupo foge das abordagens que contrastam valores pessoais entre gerações diferentes. Nesta amostra, observou-se a constância dos valores “Hedonismo” e “Conformidade” – diferentemente da teoria que previa que o primeiro teria menor importância com o avançar da vida e que o segundo tornar-se-ia mais importante; portanto, observa-se a busca pelo prazer como constante na vida das pessoas e que, ao longo da vida, as pessoas permanecem respeitando as diferenças de status e as expectativas sociais. Replicando-se achados de outros autores, verificou-se também a grande similaridade e mistura entre os valores “Realização” e “Poder”. Além disso, os valores de “Autotranscendência” e “Abertura à Mudança” estiveram muito próximos nos dois períodos contrastados – o que pode indicar que fazer o bem para os outros pode dar prazer e ser estimulante. Por fim, constatou-se que o nível de escolaridade é uma circunstância que impacta em muitas mudanças de valores e que a mudança do valor “Segurança” foi a mais correlacionada a eventos da vida. / This conclusive descriptive research aimed to verify whether the personal values change throughout life, comparing two different times - around 25 years and about 60 years. With the main theoretical work of Schwartz (1992, 2005b) and Bardi et al. (2009), 106 people that mostly live in Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre were questioned, through survey (PVQ-21) applied in face to face interviews, about their personal values today and, with questions with longitudinal-historical approach, were rescued personal values when interviewed were around 25 years. The intra-group comparison differs from approaches that contrast personal values between different generations. In this sample, we observed the constancy of values "Hedonism" and "Conformity" – unlike the theory have predicted that the first would reduce importance with advancing life and the second would become more important; hence, the pursuit of pleasure was understood as a constant in people's lives and that throughout life, people remain respecting the differences of status and social expectations. Replicating the findings of other authors, it was also find the great similarity and mixing between the "Achievement" and "Power". Moreover, the values of "Self-Transcendence" and "Openness to Change" were very close in the two contrasted periods - which may indicate that doing good for others can be stimulating and pleasuring. Finally, it was found that the level of education is a condition that impacts many changes in values and change the value "Security" was the most correlated with life events.

Esta pesquisa, com caráter conclusivo descritivo, buscou verificar se os valores pessoais mudam ao longo da vida, comparando-se dois diferentes momentos – em torno dos 25 anos e em torno dos 60 anos. Tendo como principal referencial teórico os trabalhos de Schwartz (1992; 2005b) e de Bardi et al. (2009), questionaram-se 106 pessoas que vivem, predominantemente, na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, através de survey (PVQ-21) aplicada em entrevistas face a face, sobre os valores pessoais hoje e, com perguntas com abordagem histórico-longitudinal, resgataram-se os valores pessoais em torno dos 25 anos. O comparativo intragrupo foge das abordagens que contrastam valores pessoais entre gerações diferentes. Nesta amostra, observou-se a constância dos valores “Hedonismo” e “Conformidade” – diferentemente da teoria que previa que o primeiro teria menor importância com o avançar da vida e que o segundo tornar-se-ia mais importante; portanto, observa-se a busca pelo prazer como constante na vida das pessoas e que, ao longo da vida, as pessoas permanecem respeitando as diferenças de status e as expectativas sociais. Replicando-se achados de outros autores, verificou-se também a grande similaridade e mistura entre os valores “Realização” e “Poder”. Além disso, os valores de “Autotranscendência” e “Abertura à Mudança” estiveram muito próximos nos dois períodos contrastados – o que pode indicar que fazer o bem para os outros pode dar prazer e ser estimulante. Por fim, constatou-se que o nível de escolaridade é uma circunstância que impacta em muitas mudanças de valores e que a mudança do valor “Segurança” foi a mais correlacionada a eventos da vida. / This conclusive descriptive research aimed to verify whether the personal values change throughout life, comparing two different times - around 25 years and about 60 years. With the main theoretical work of Schwartz (1992, 2005b) and Bardi et al. (2009), 106 people that mostly live in Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre were questioned, through survey (PVQ-21) applied in face to face interviews, about their personal values today and, with questions with longitudinal-historical approach, were rescued personal values when interviewed were around 25 years. The intra-group comparison differs from approaches that contrast personal values between different generations. In this sample, we observed the constancy of values "Hedonism" and "Conformity" – unlike the theory have predicted that the first would reduce importance with advancing life and the second would become more important; hence, the pursuit of pleasure was understood as a constant in people's lives and that throughout life, people remain respecting the differences of status and social expectations. Replicating the findings of other authors, it was also find the great similarity and mixing between the "Achievement" and "Power". Moreover, the values of "Self-Transcendence" and "Openness to Change" were very close in the two contrasted periods - which may indicate that doing good for others can be stimulating and pleasuring. Finally, it was found that the level of education is a condition that impacts many changes in values and change the value "Security" was the most correlated with life events.

Esta pesquisa, com caráter conclusivo descritivo, buscou verificar se os valores pessoais mudam ao longo da vida, comparando-se dois diferentes momentos – em torno dos 25 anos e em torno dos 60 anos. Tendo como principal referencial teórico os trabalhos de Schwartz (1992; 2005b) e de Bardi et al. (2009), questionaram-se 106 pessoas que vivem, predominantemente, na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, através de survey (PVQ-21) aplicada em entrevistas face a face, sobre os valores pessoais hoje e, com perguntas com abordagem histórico-longitudinal, resgataram-se os valores pessoais em torno dos 25 anos. O comparativo intragrupo foge das abordagens que contrastam valores pessoais entre gerações diferentes. Nesta amostra, observou-se a constância dos valores “Hedonismo” e “Conformidade” – diferentemente da teoria que previa que o primeiro teria menor importância com o avançar da vida e que o segundo tornar-se-ia mais importante; portanto, observa-se a busca pelo prazer como constante na vida das pessoas e que, ao longo da vida, as pessoas permanecem respeitando as diferenças de status e as expectativas sociais. Replicando-se achados de outros autores, verificou-se também a grande similaridade e mistura entre os valores “Realização” e “Poder”. Além disso, os valores de “Autotranscendência” e “Abertura à Mudança” estiveram muito próximos nos dois períodos contrastados – o que pode indicar que fazer o bem para os outros pode dar prazer e ser estimulante. Por fim, constatou-se que o nível de escolaridade é uma circunstância que impacta em muitas mudanças de valores e que a mudança do valor “Segurança” foi a mais correlacionada a eventos da vida. / This conclusive descriptive research aimed to verify whether the personal values change throughout life, comparing two different times - around 25 years and about 60 years. With the main theoretical work of Schwartz (1992, 2005b) and Bardi et al. (2009), 106 people that mostly live in Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre were questioned, through survey (PVQ-21) applied in face to face interviews, about their personal values today and, with questions with longitudinal-historical approach, were rescued personal values when interviewed were around 25 years. The intra-group comparison differs from approaches that contrast personal values between different generations. In this sample, we observed the constancy of values "Hedonism" and "Conformity" – unlike the theory have predicted that the first would reduce importance with advancing life and the second would become more important; hence, the pursuit of pleasure was understood as a constant in people's lives and that throughout life, people remain respecting the differences of status and social expectations. Replicating the findings of other authors, it was also find the great similarity and mixing between the "Achievement" and "Power". Moreover, the values of "Self-Transcendence" and "Openness to Change" were very close in the two contrasted periods - which may indicate that doing good for others can be stimulating and pleasuring. Finally, it was found that the level of education is a condition that impacts many changes in values and change the value "Security" was the most correlated with life events.

This thesis explores the possible impact of a postmaterialist value shift on the future of democracy in advanced industrial democratic countries. Research over the past few decades has questioned the responsiveness of representative democratic institutions in advanced industrial democracies to individual and communal needs in society. Radical democratic theorists have called for direct action, structural reform, and other social and political changes to make democracy "stronger." Increased education levels brought on by continued economic and physical security in advanced industrial societies has led to a change in the ability of citizens to access the political process. How the relationship between the citizen and the state is altered as a result of continued prosperity is a primary motivation for this research. Working with World Values Survey data, I examine individual and societal level relationships between postmaterial values and direct political participation and acceptance of participatory values. Empirical evidence supports the hypotheses that postmaterial values are positively associated with direct political participation and as the level of Postmaterialists increases in a given society the level of participatory behavior and acceptance of participatory values will also increase. Substantive analysis suggests that increase in the level of postmaterialism in a country will lead to increases in alternative political activity and other forms of direct participation. / Master of Arts