Contenu du sommaire

François Chazel : Thoughts on the Parsonian concept of power and influence. The author questions the analogy established by Talcott Parsons between money, power and influence. In the Parsonian perspective power became a tool for exchange, its character was symbolic and necessarily legitimate : according to the author power is concrete capacity, based on mastery of strength and its existence precedes its lawful acknowledgment. Moreover, power is not, like money, an instrument for relations but establishes a particular type of human relation, the hierarchical relation of superior to subordonate. Influence also is not a symbolic tool, since it initiates an original category of human relations. Nevertheless, it proceeds by handling and manipulation of symbols ; so that it does play, as in the Parsonian theory a role of social integration.

René Duchac : Suicide in Japan, suicide Japanese style. Statistical data show that the unusual high rate of suicide in Japan, a recent phenomenon, is mainly due to the suicide of youths and women. But certain particularities of this phenomenon can be explained only through motivation studies, in the light of the national Japanese character in some of its traditional aspects. However, the small number of cases studied allows the author to present his conclusions only as working hypothesis.

Roland Devauges, Jacques Jenny : Perforated cards « according to characteristics » and their use in inquiries by questionnaire. The authors present and illustrate a technique for the treatment of data, especially valuable for exploratory type inquiries, of a dominant qualitative content and with a non-rigid programation. A synoptic table shows the advantages and inconveniences inherent to the different techniques which fall in two large systems with data entry according to « individuals » and « characteristics ». The illustration describes a recent inquiry on educated youths in Togo (3.309 questionnaires of 125 questions or 2.446 data characteristics codified) ; it enables the authors to criticise the experiment and to propose technical improvements and special programation in order to obtain an optimal system which would unite the respective advantages of both methods.