PALESTINIAN SOCIETY - Fafo

ackground characteristics. All coefficients theoretically vary between 0,0 and 1,0,
the bigger the size the better the explanation.
By applying a step-by-step method, introducing one background characteristic
at the time, we can observe how the beta coefficients change with the incIusion of
new background characteristics. We assume that the age and the sex ofthe HH are
not influenced by the other characteristics. But age and sex may influence the
educational status, which again may be vital in determining the occupational status,
and, in the end, economic wealth. The sizeofthe beta coefficientthe first time agi ven
factor is incIuded in the analysis, indicates the "total causal effect" of this
characteristic. By watching the changes in the beta coefficients at each step we have
an indication ofhow much of the effect of the respective background characteristics
is attributable to this factor itself, and how much is "transmitted" through the other
characteristics. The difference between the eta coefficient and the relevant beta
coefficient at the first ste p indicates the "spuriousness':. For further reading see
Andrews, F.M et al. 1973: Multiple ClassificationAnalysis, The Institute for Social
Research, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Economic wealth (the consumer durables index) by social background variables.
Stepwise MCA-analysis. N=813
Age
Sex
Regionlrefugee status
Education
Occupation
B I-BS-Beta at step I to 5.
Eta
.20
.16
.46
.34
.29
Bl
.20
:04
B2
.18
.14
.06
B3
.18
.1
.47
.27
B4
.12
.10
.43
.26
.32
B5
.12
.10
.42
:20
.17
.33
21 Due to low numbers of respondents, complete charting of the interaction is
impossible.
22 Lutfiyyeh, A: Baytin: A Jordan Village. Mouton, 1964.
23 That is, we do not know the actual status of any HH as measured by the opinion
of his own community.
24 Thequestions were posed as follows: l. "Do you feel that you can affect important
decisions inside your neighborhood?" 2. "Do you feel that you can affect important
decisions inside your village/town?"
25 The perception of influence vanes among localities where West Bank HHs score
higher than Gazans and Arab Jerusalemites -also when comparing urban-ruralcamp
differences. The perception of influence may be interpreted as a reflection of
Israeli presence, rather than a result of the cultural status of the HH.
26 Farsoun, S.K: Family Structure in Modem Lebanon (p 292), in Sweet L.E (ed.)
Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East, New York 1970.·
27 L. Ammons (op.cit., 1978) notes that emigration has resulted in the strengthening
of the extended family. While emigrants have tended to leave their wives and
children in the care of their parents (i.e. the wife's in-Iaws) for extended periods,
remittances havecontributed to the preservation and strengthening of the patnarchal
household.
28 Foradiscussion of assumptions by Western social scientists about "urban decay"
in the developing countnes, see Elizabeth Wilson, The Sp!linx in the City: Urban
Life, the Contral ofDisorder, and Women (University of California Press, 1991) pp.
121-135.
29 The question reads: "In all countries the re are contradictions orconflicts between
different social groups. In your opinion, in our country, how much conflict is there
between: ...... (the different groups)?"
246